The 51st game of the IPL will see the Deccan Chargers take on the Kings XI Punjab in a new venue at the Dharmasala cricket ground, a beautifully, picturesque venue.

Punjab has already crashed out of the tournament, but Deccan still have a chance, for which they need to win all their games from here on. But the problem they have on hand is that despite crashing out of the tournament, Punjab has begun its giant-killing spree. First they beat Mumbai in a game at Mohali, and then went on to topple the Delhi Daredevils on a slow and a low wicket at the Kotla.

The thing about this track at the Dharmasala cricket ground is that not much will be known to most of those playing on the wicket and that could make for some interesting viewing. The other thing about the ground is that it is at a height over the sea level and that will allow the bowlers to probably get some swing, but most importantly, the bowlers will also need to be much fitter than they are, as it will require much more out of their lungs.

Punjab seemed to have out-thought their opposition in both the previous games after fielding first and they will look to do the same. This will include getting the spinners on early after fielding first and trying to chase down the target. The pair of Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar have made life rather miserable for the opposition batsmen, and with Adam Gilchrist in the kind of woeful form that he is in, it is evident that the side will struggle to make it beyond the two.

However, what needs to be taken into consideration is that the likes of T Suman, Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma, have been going well in the last few games of the tournament and this has allowed Chargers to get away with a couple of successive wins in the last few games.

What would have surprised the Chargers would be the bowling performance from their side, where unknown faces like Ryan Harris and Harmeet Singh have come really good against their opposition. The advantage that they obviously have had is that the pitches have slowed down, and for bowlers like Harmeet, his leg-spinning slower ball has made things difficult for the batsmen.

To me, Deccan look favourites to win this game and should make it 12 points after the game.

Tag :- Adam Gilchrist   Andrew Symonds   Deccan Chargers   Kings XI Punjab   Piyush Chawla   Ryan Harris