da bwin： Taking on Kings XI Punjab at their home ground, Northern Knights need to show they possess the depth of resources to go all the way in the tournament
da bet7： The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Sep-2014Match facts Friday, September 26, 2014
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)Big pictureSo far, Group B hasn’t had a runaway leader, unlike Kolkata Knight Riders, who have already qualified for the semi-finals from Group A with three wins in a row. Kings XI Punjab, however, could match that on their home ground if they beat a vulnerable-looking Northern Knights side. Were the reverse to happen, three teams will be tied for the group lead with eight points each.After four wins in a row to start their campaign, Knights’ weaknesses – hidden till then by the rampaging form of their openers – were ruthlessly exposed by Hobart Hurricanes in an 86-run mauling on Tuesday, with the middle order, brought to the crease early for the first time in the tournament, crumbling under scoreboard pressure.From Knights’ perspective, Kings XI Punjab are perhaps the ideal bowling attack to go up against after such a dispiriting batting failure. While Anureet Singh and Parvinder Awana were impressive in restricting Hurricanes to 144, the same pair of seamers went for plenty against Barbados Tridents. With injury robbing their attack of Mitchell Johnson’s pace and Sandeep Sharma’s new-ball swing, Kings XI’s bowling is inconsistent at best and suspect at worst.Northern Knights’ middle order, which includes their captain Daniel Flynn, will need to come good if the team is to stand any chance of winning the CLT20•BCCI
Still, their batsmen are capable of posting totals beyond anyone else’s reach and chasing down pretty much any target. Knights’ bowling, which slipped up badly – and quite literally, considering how heavy the dew was – against Hurricanes after a superb start with the new ball, will face probably their stiffest test when they come up against Kings XI. They will need to exert a lot of control if Knights are to achieve what no other non-IPL side has done in the group stage of this tournament, beating an IPL side.Form guide Kings XI Punjab WWLWL (most recent first, completed matches only)
Northern Knights LWWWWWatch out for Thisara Perera didn’t get to play a single game for Kings XI in the IPL, but he’s grabbed the opportunity afforded by the absence of Mitchell Johnson. Perera picked up four wickets in two matches with his medium-pace, conceding under six runs an over in both matches, and his unbeaten 35 was instrumental in the five-wicket win over Hurricanes. In a team with an inexperienced bowling attack and a batting line-up that can have the odd hiccup thanks to its strategy of going hard at the bowling right through the innings, he performs a valuable function.On the slow pitches in Raipur, the slow-medium offcutters of Scott Styris, allied to a nagging stump-to-stump like, were virtually un-hittable. Mohali offers much truer pace and bounce, and it remains to be seen how he will adjust, particularly against a batting line-up of such unrelenting aggression.Stats and trivia Northern Knights have a couple of players on the verge of landmarks. Scott Styris will play his 200th T20 game – the first New Zealander to reach the landmark – and Tim Southee his 100th. Glenn Maxwell needs 67 runs to reach 2000 in T20 cricketQuotes”I think I have faced less than 20 balls this entire tournament simply because the top-order has done so well. On the one hand I am disappointed that we lost the other day, but on the other I am glad that I got a bit of a bat against a good quality bowling attack that Hobart Hurricanes has.”
“I don’t think we have played a great game of cricket yet, particularly with the bat. I think we have bowled nicely in a couple of games, but I think our batting still hasn’t clicked, so there is lot to improve.”
