The second half of the Indian Premier League double header on Sunday comes from Chandigarh as the Kings XI Punjab take on a Chennai Super Kings outfit whose return to the IPL has certainly been eventful thus far.
The Super Kings have won both their matches so far and a win here will move them level with the Sunrisers at the top of the pile. Kings XI have a win and a defeat so they are bubbling under the radar nicely enough.
Kings XI Punjab
The Kings XI were almost two from two in terms of wins this term but they were edged out by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last outing. In fairness they never looked to have enough runs when they were batting in that match but some outstanding skills with the ball almost saw them turn things around only for AB de Villiers to have other ideas.
The Punjab outfit will need to ensure that they bat well in this competition but if they do then we have seen already that with the amount of spin that is loaded into their attack combined with two wonderful death bowlers that they will be hard to beat. I suspect they are unsure of their best batting line up but when they find that the Punjab side will be dangerous.
Chennai Super Kings
The returning Super Kings have won both their matches so far this season but they could be forgiven for not being sure how. They were dead and buried in their first match in Mumbai before a Dwayne Bravo blitz saved them and they were going nowhere against Kolkata last time out until Sam Billings got to work.
They will take great confidence from the fact that they have managed to put back to back wins on the board but in truth they probably should have two defeats to their name. They will need to be honest enough to know that the wins have only papered over cracks in their side but on the flip side if they can find a complete performance they have a wonderful platform in place.
Team News
Kings XI Punjab just need to decide on their order. They could make a change to bring David Miller back in for Marcus Stoinis if the Australian isn’t going to bowl again but otherwise we should expect them to be unchanged.
Chennai Super Kings will be forced into another change to their side with Suresh Raina injured. David Willey has joined up with the squad but could only really play for Shane Watson. Lundi Ngidi has gone back home after the death of his father while Faf du Plessis is not expected to be fit in time.
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Betting
It must be said that betting before the outcome of the toss has not been a profitable strategy thus far in this tournament but if a score is going to be defended anywhere it will be here at Mohali where the ground is on the larger side and it will be by the Kings XI Punjab who have a hugely skilful bowling attack.
Chennai Super Kings might have two wins on the board but they can’t keep winning the way they are playing. If the Kings XI can just pace the middle order of their batting better then they should be capable of putting up the total necessary to win this one.
I’ll also take a punt on Sam Billings to top score again for the Chennai Super Kings. He was brilliant in their previous match and plays spin so well that he should have every chance of top scoring here. It is hard to see the openers getting away and with Dhoni looking out of nick and no Raina or Jadhav to worry about the 6/1 on Billings could yield dividends.
Tips
WON – Back Kings XI Punjab to beat Chennai Super Kings for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
Back them here:
Back S.Billings Top Chennai Super Kings Batsman for a 1.5/10 stake at 7.00 with Betfair
Back him here:
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