Find Me A 100 Winner / Jaymes Monte / 14 May 2009 /

The Delhi Daredevils has been at their devilish best of late whilst the Kings Punjab XI have been extremely watchable but consistant in their inconsistency. Which should all make for a great match says Jaymes Monte.

Team News

Kings XI Punjab were the indirect losers of Australia's series against Pakistan in Dubai earlier this month. As a result of it, they lost Shaun Marsh to injury and all-rounder James Hopes to the Australian Cricket Board's decision to enforce a period of rest upon some of their stars.
However, that has created opportunities for some of the young Indians to flex their muscles.

Sunny Sohal is one man who has certainly grasped that opportunity in superb style - scoring 30 from 17 balls against Deccan Chargers then 43 from 23 balls against the Mumbai Indians. That last performance will almost certainly have secured his place for this game. Brett Lee has joined the side in the last week, and his runs from low down the order make him a valuable cog in the Punjab machinery.

Captain Virender Sehwag has recovered from an injury that kept him out of a large chunk of this tournament, and we expect to see him feature for the second match running. Throughout the tournament there has seldom been any change to the Daredevils' batting line-up so Gautam Gambhir and David Warner are expected to open the batting once more.

They have been followed to the crease by Dilshan, de Villiers and Karthik in varying orders dependent on the situation. That formula has ensure they're sitting pretty at the top of the table with 16 points from 10 games, and other than the addition of Sehwag I can't see any reason to make changes. With the ball it's been the big Australian-Dutchman Dirk Nannes and Indians Amit Mishra and Ashish Nehra making inroads and again I can't see any reason why there would be much tinkering with this successful recipe.

Venue, pitch and conditions

This is the first of two IPL games to be played in Bloemfontein, and there's has never been an international T20 game played at the ground. The lack of top class T20 cricket means that there is little information available as to what a good score would be on this ground. Bloemfontein does boast some of the best lights in the country meaning there shouldn't be any obvious disadvantage (or advantage) to chasing totals in the lights.

There are showers expected in the morning which may mean we get a slightly damp outfield, often an indication to take on the spinners. But the rain should clear by the afternoon meaning we ought to get a full twenty overs per side.

Match Odds

There doesn't seem to be much of an edge available on the Match Odds market as it looks to be correctly priced up by my reckoning. If you're the type of gambler who likes to go with form and consistency (as most of us are) then I wouldn't put you off the [1.62] on Delhi. On the other hand, if you are of the adventurous mind set, there is great potential for Punjab to trade a lot lower than the [2.26] available pre-match.

Top Batsman

Sunny Sohal has been given licence to thrill at the top of the order. Although he tends to give his wicket away rather cheaply and is just as likely to go for a duck as notching a half century, there's rarely a dull moment while he's at the crease. There's definitely value in taking him to be top Punjab run scorer @ [6.5] and you certainly won't be left twiddling your thumbs whilst he's carrying your money out in the middle.

Delhi have been so consistent that it's hard to see past any of the opening four batsmen here. AB de Villiers has recorded the top score of the tournament, and the only century thus far, against the Chennai Super Kings. A player capable of producing that sort of innings should not be sniffed at lightly, and I wouldn't put anyone off backing him @ [5.0].

Featured Market

The Kings XI approach to this tournament seems to be, simply, get as many runs on the board as quickly as possible regardless of the situation in the game. This kamikaze style has undoubtedly been their downfall in the tournament, but it has also meant that they are one of the most exciting sides to watch when batting. Back them to get the most sixes in the match @ [2.1], as if past performances are anything to go by they will be looking to hit it out of the ground at any given opportunity.

Jaymes Monte says: Back Kings XI Punjab to get most sixes @ [2.1]

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