Pune Warriors make home debut
ESPNcricinfo previews the eighth match of IPL 2012 between Pune Warriors v Kings XI Punjab in Pune
Match facts
Sunday, April 8, PuneStart time 2000 (1430 GMT)
Big Picture
After spending a season playing at their surrogate home ground in Navi Mumbai, Pune Warriors are back where they ought to be - in Pune. Here, they will take on Kings XI Punjab at the new Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium. The ground is 28 kms away from the city centre, but optimists among the fans would say that's 100 kms closer than the DY Patil Stadium. Fresh from their 28-run heist against their more fancied neighbours, Mumbai Indians, Warriors will look to build some momentum against a Kings XI side that was razed by Ajinkya Rahane and Kevin Cooper in Jaipur on Friday.Players to watch
Robin Uthappa scored an uncharacteristically sedate 36 in Mumbai but, more importantly, controlled the slide with a crucial partnership in the middle overs. A strong hitter, Uthappa would fancy his chances against a less than commanding Kings XI bowling attack.2011 head-to-head
Warriors overwhelmed Kings XI twice in an otherwise sorry campaign last year. The bowlers led them to a seven-wicket win in Navi Mumbai and repeated the performance in Mohali, ensuring a five-wicket victory.Stats and trivia
- Shaun Marsh averages 50.96 for Kings XI, the highest in IPL history.
- Rahul Sharma leads Warriors bowling charts with 17 wickets at an average of 17. Neat.
Quotes
"There is a problem with the white ball on the flat subcontinent wickets. [For the] first few overs it's manageable, but then both the new balls are an advantage to the batsmen."Praveen Kumar
A Kings XI's chef reveals the strategy to avoiding butter-fingered players
Devashish Fuloria is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo