Yuvraj the focus in Pune's debut
When Pune play their first match in the IPL, Yuvraj Singh will be leading them against his old team Kings XI Punjab
Match facts
Sunday, April 10Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)
Big picture
The biggest talking point going into this match will be Yuvraj Singh. The "icon" player for Kings XI Punjab in the earlier seasons, their local hero, will now be leading the opposition. And this, after being removed as captain of Punjab in the second season. His forgettable 2010, when he lost his spot in the national team in both Tests and one-dayers, also included a miserable IPL season. All that changed at the World Cup: four Man-of-the-Match awards, capped off with the Man-of-the-Tournament honour tells the story. Pune will hope he can bring that form to the IPL, and inspire a young side.Team talk
Pune are missing several key personnel: allrounder Angelo Mathews is likely to miss the entire season with a leg injury that forced him out of the World Cup final; another player who couldn't play the World Cup final due to injury is Ashish Nehra, whose finger injury will keep him out of the first few matches of the IPL; and opener Manish Pandey has been banned for four matches after breaching the rules related to the signing of uncapped players.In the spotlight
Graeme Smith has had a torrid time with the bat over the past few months, but as one of the few players with plenty of experience in the squad, he will need to step up over the season.Prime numbers
- Yuvraj Singh had no hundreds or half-centuries in Punjab's disastrous 2010 season
- Robin Uthappa maintained an astonishing strike-rate of 171.55 in the previous season
- Pune are the most expensive frachise in the tournament, and have the largest squad
The chatter
Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo