Two teams with impressive starts to the 2018 edition of the IPL will meet when Kings XI Punjab hosts the Sunrisers Hyderabad at Mohali on Thursday.
The visitors have been the in-form team in the IPL so far with three wins in as many matches to establish themselves at the top of the table.
On the other hand, Ravichandran Ashwin has enjoyed a great beginning to his Kings XI captaincy stint with two wins out of three. Both their wins have come at their home ground in Mohali.
TALKING POINTS
BATTLE OF THE AFGHAN SPIN PRODIGIES
Thursday’s clash will see two Afghanistan compatriots in Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman line up for opposing teams. Both the teenage spin prodigies have been excellent for their respective teams so far in the competition and as such, it will be interesting to watch who comes out on top at Mohali.
17-year-old Mujeeb became the youngest debutant in IPL history in the win against Delhi Daredevils and has been highly economical in his three matches so far. On the other hand, Rashid has continued to show why he is considered to be one of the very best in the T20 format with his fast-paced leg-spin.
GAYLE BRING THE X-FACTOR TO KINGS XI
After not being picked in the playing XI for the first two games for his new franchise, Chris Gayle was finally given his Kings XI debut in the side’s win over Chennai Super Kings.
The swashbuckling Jamaican came to the IPL with a brutal 33-ball 63 which pulverized the Chennai bowling attack. Gayle’s introduction has given a new dimension to the Punjab side and he will be the key to unsettling the Hyderabad bowling unit which has been the best in the competition by a country-mile.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Yuvraj Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Karun Nair, Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Axar Patel, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Andrew Tye.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (C), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Billy Stanlake, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul.
