Maxwell readies for captaincy debut, against Smith
Kings XI Punjab, who finished bottom of the table last season, will be hoping to do much better this time around, under their new captain
The Preview by Annesha Ghosh
07-Apr-2017
Match facts
Kings XI Punjab v Rising Pune Supergiant
Indore, April 8, 2017
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)
Indore, April 8, 2017
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)
Head to head
It's one all, with each team having won at their home venue last year. These two teams finished bottom of the table last season.
In the news
Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell, who has never led any team in the 340 recognised matches he has played across formats, will debut as captain for Kings XI. He was picked for the role ahead of international captains such as Eoin Morgan and Darren Sammy.
A last-minute addition to the Kings XI squad, Ishant Sharma is set to represent his fifth IPL franchise - the joint-second most by any player - against the team that let he go after the 2016 season. Kings XI brought in Ishant as a replacement for M Vijay, who is out of IPL 2017 with wrist and shoulder injuries sustained during India's protracted home season. Ishant had gone unsold at the IPL auction in February, after a season in which he claimed three wickets in four matches at 49.33, conceding 9.86 per over for Supergiant.
Shardul Thakur might get into Supergiant's XI, after the lacklustre performance from the team's frontline seamers in their opening game against Mumbai Indians. Ashok Dinda bowled the most expensive 20th over in IPL history - 30 runs - and the side's fast-bowling trio, comprising Dinda, Deepak Chahar and Ben Stokes, conceded 114 runs for a solitary wicket.
Kings XI's INR 3 crore recruit T Natarajan made quite a mark in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, particularly with his six yorkers in a Super Over against Tuti Patriots. He could push Varun Aaron for a spot in the XI. Kings XI will also take the field with a new coach behind them; J Arun Kumar took charge following Sanjay Bangar's resignation.
Indore's Holkar Stadium, which hosted its last IPL game in 2011, will be Kings XI's second home after Mohali. Three games will be played at the ground.
The likely XIs
Is Glenn Maxwell the right man to lead Kings XI?
0 votesYes
No
Kings XI Punjab: 1 Manan Vohra, 2 Glenn Maxwell (capt), 3 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 David Miller, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Axar Patel, 8 KC Cariappa, 9 Sandeep Sharma, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 T Natarajan/Varun Aaron
Rising Pune Supergiant: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Ben Stokes, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Jaydev Unadkat 9 Imran Tahir, 10 Shardul Thakur/Ishwar Pandey, 11 Adam Zampa
Stats that matter
- In Indore, where the last T20 match played was during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy - India's domestic T20 competition - in 2015, teams batting first won seven out of ten matches.
Annesha Ghosh is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo