Super Kings chase top-two finish
One team is already through to the playoffs and the other is out of the reckoning, but the meeting is important nonetheless, with Chennai Super Kings looking to seal a top-two finish
The Preview by Nagraj Gollapudi
15-May-2015
Match facts
Friday, May 16, 2015
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)
Big picture
One team is already through to the playoffs and the other is already out of the reckoning, but this match has a lot of meaning. Chennai Super Kings need to win to strengthen their chances of taking the top spot, which will take them one step closer to the final instead of the strenuous two-step process that will confront the teams finishing third and fourth. For Kings XI, a victory will help them pack their bags with a little more hope for next season.
Apart from their spirited victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the rain-shortened match on Wednesday evening, Kings XI will gain confidence from Super Kings' mixed reputation as tourists: MS Dhoni's men have lost four out of their six away matches this season, including two of the last four.
Surprisingly, for a team that for the better part of the IPL's eight seasons has remained an undisputed favourite, Super Kings have faced stumbling blocks this season. Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and even MS Dhoni have been far from fluent.
Kings XI will do well to keep in mind Delhi Daredevils' win against Super Kings earlier this week, when Zaheer Khan delivered suffocating lines and lengths against Brendon McCullum and the top order to clinch the battle early in the match. One of the takeaways from Kings XI's win against Royal Challengers was the tight and clever lines and changes of pace delivered by all their bowlers, who managed to keep Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers silent. If they can maintain the same tempo and execute their plans, Kings XI can expect to exit the tournament with heads held high.
Form Guide
Kings XI Punjab WLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings LWLWL
Chennai Super Kings LWLWL
Watch Out For
In Kings XI's training sessions, Glenn Maxwell is the magnet that attracts all other players. He is the liverwire that emits energy and keeps the intensity high. Yet on the field Maxwell has only 139 runs from 10 matches this season. His aura and reputation have allowed him to bat fairly high in the middle order but he has wasted his opportunities. He has one last chance to make a start, convert it and make it big.
Suresh Raina has scored 400-plus runs in every IPL season barring this one. But Kings XI have been one of his favourite oppositions: he has the second-most IPL runs against them (533), only behind Chris Gayle (724). In past seasons Raina didn't just provide robustness in the middle-order but also batted deep. This time he has struggled to convert his starts and that has put invariable pressure on Dhoni and the lower order.
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Stats and trivia
If Dwayne Bravo, the highest wicket-taker so far this IPL, takes two further wickets he will become the first player to take 100 wickets and score 1000 runs in the tournament's history.
Dhoni has 22 stumpings, and is one short of the all-time IPL record.
Kings XI have lost 29 wickets in the Powerplay, nine more than any other team
Quotes
"It's been a totally a topsy-turvy thing - being at the top (of the points table) last season and then finishing this season at the bottom. We need to go back to the drawing board and reassess our strategies. The strategies that we applied last season didn't work this season."
Sanjay Bangar, the Kings XI coach, reflects on his team's fall this season
Sanjay Bangar, the Kings XI coach, reflects on his team's fall this season
Stats by Bishen Jeswant
Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo