IPL 2018: CSK vs KXIP, Match 56 - Kings XI Punjab Predicted XI

No league match can get bigger and better than this as the Kings XI Punjab, who started the season so well, will now play for their lives against the most successful team in IPL history. They have no other choice but to win and pray for other results to go in their favour right now if they wish to qualify for the playoffs.

The Indian Premier League over the years has witnessed many seasons where the qualification scenario got very complicated with more than 6-7 teams still in contention till the very of the league stages. This season has definitely been one such, where only the Chennai Super Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad have confirmed their status.

In the last 7 matches, they lost 6 and managed to grab two points in just one game. This is a stat which will not make them very proud because their side started the campaign on a great note. The equation is still not clear, but a win is compulsory to keep them in the hunt. Here’s the predicted XI of the Kings XI Punjab for the last game of this season’s league stages.

Openers – KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle

KL Rahul clearly has been one of the players of the season. The current holder of the Orange Cap, many experts reckon this is Rahul’s best IPL campaign by a long distance. The youngster from Karnataka will have to pull off another big knock to see his side through to the final four.

Chris Gayle has failed to deliver the goods for the Kings XI Punjab in the last few games where the side has been performing really bad. There’s a bit of over-reliance on the openers to get the big runs and when they don’t, this side tends to collapse. A big knock from the big man would put a smile on many faces supporting the Kings.

Middle Order – Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, Aaron Finch

Yuvraj Singh was made to bat very low in the order, a move which didn’t work well. The veteran of Indian cricket was brought into the XI to see if he can bring in his experience and deliver a big performance, which unfortunately didn’t happen. The other experienced campaigner in this lineup is Aaron Finch, who managed to get a decent score against MI, which should do his confidence a world of good.

Karun Nair did a fabulous job for the Punjab contingent in the first few games, playing some outstanding second-fiddle knocks. He’s a class act and the management would be considering to keep him in the XI ahead of Manoj Tiwary, who barely got a chance to bat this season.

All-rounders – Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin (C)

Axar Patel’s horrendous IPL campaign after getting retained by the side has one more game left. The biggest conundrum for him will be how to turn this campaign around with so little time left. Well, it’s the high time of the season and if he can pull something brilliant to take his side to the playoffs, he can pat himself on his back.

Skipper Ravichandran Ashwin has had a mentally torrid time in the last two-three weeks. His side has been performing very badly and there’s nothing much he can do about because the batting department has been the main problem. He will be expecting a much better rendition from his side for this hugely significant game.

Bowlers – Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Zadran

Mohit Sharma and Ankit Rajpoot will be the two Indian bowlers in the playing XI. Whilst Mohit Sharma has had a forgettable campaign barring a few good overs in the death, Ankit Rajpoot can consider this to be his breakthrough season. The youngster has been their best fast bowler after Andrew Tye.

The Australian fast bowler Andrew Tye is a country mile away from the other bowlers as far as the Purple cap race is concerned. His variations have proved to be too difficult for the batters to pick and he’s Ashwin’s go-to man right now. Another change expected in the XI is for Mujeeb Zadran to come in place of Marcus Stoinis.