 The
two sides that have had a chequered history in the IPL off the field will be in
action on Saturday as Kings XI Punjab take on Rajasthan Royals in their second
meeting of the season. The two sides are still in contention for the semi-finals,
though have plenty of work to do to get there.
Kings XI Punjab overcame a late scare against Royal Challengers Bangalore to sneak
home off the penultimate delivery in a close encounter. The win now sees them
with five wins and as many defeats from ten matches, and are evenly poised in
fourth place.
Click for Live Score Card of Mohali Punjab Kings Vs Jaipur Rajasthan Royals
With back-to-back wins, the side is slowly gaining momentum and would be eager
to continue so against an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals. Azhar Mahmood
has been a revelation for the Kings XI as he picked up crucial wickets in the
last match as well, finishing with three for 20.
Mandeep Singh has stepped up and taken the responsibility with the bat, while Nitin Saini scored a pivotal maiden half-century to take his team to
victory. The batsmen though will need to improve their running between the wickets
as three run outs nearly spelt disaster for them.
Rajasthan Royals have lost four matches in a row and now are seventh on the table.
They need a win desperately to keep their semi-final hopes alive. They ran into
a charged up Delhi Daredevils in the last match and lost comprehensively.
Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane have given the team good starts but
the other batsmen need to capitalize on them to post good totals. The weak bowling
attack is already struggling with Kevon Cooper returning home due to injury.
Shane Watson will be seen as the force to possibly bring about a change
in fortunes for them.
The match will be played in Mohali where Kings XI Punjab will be looking
to avenge the defeat they suffered against Rajasthan Royals in their opening
match of the season.
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