KXIP vs SRH: Key Battles.

Kings XI Punjab have come to the party, all decked up! And boy, are they not turning heads! Chasing 200+ and 190+ targets with ridiculous ease, it leaves teams to wonder what awaits them once Sehwag blasts off and George Bailey finds his mojo. Then perhaps a game with the Royal Challengers will be good to watch. Consider this, RCB coming all guns blazing and all batsmen blasting the leather out of the park and posting 250+ and Sehwag hitting the living daylights out of the RCB bowlers and Maxwell Miller Co. Ltd. teaming up to finish off perhaps the greatest IPL match of all time. A la Aus vs SA at JoBurg. Even I am waiting for it.

For today though, there is another beautiful clash coming up. KXIP vs SRH. Both being strong outfits, KXIP have won 2 out of 2 and SRH the only match that they have played. This appears to be a match where SRH will devise plan after plan to tackle the KXIP mavericks, but ultimately leave much of the execution to the bowlers, fielders and most importantly, fate! Because the way KXIP appear to be batting now is a T20 masterclass telecast live from the moon: Balls flying and staying airborne in a desert landscape. Never mind the color of the desert!

Today is going to be Sehwag vs Steyn. While I am not exactly the biggest Sehwag fan, I certainly do hope he gets back among the runs. KXIP cannot be riding the success of the lower middle order for very long and that means Sehwag needs to build an innings, even if not blaze it. The problem with him has always been the fact that his innings is always in two modes. There is no middle road. He has to start with a middle road today. Like he did in Australia few years back making a comeback into the test team. You cannot expect him to hit the ground running against the fiery pace of Dale Steyn. He needs to buy his (precious little) time in and then look for scoring opportunities to complement Maxwell and Miller who might be there beside him by atleast the 13th over. For that Sehwag can play the pacers cautiously and attack Amit Mishra, especially on flat and shiny pitches offering little help to the tweakiest of tweakers.

The key battle though is the one between the SRH spinners and KXIP middle order. Given that the pitches are fairly flat, Maxwell has the liberty of hitting Mishra and Karan Sharma through the line into the mid-wicket boundary that he so much favors. The key for SRH to win this game is to stop the duo of Miller and Maxwell who can take the game away from them especially when SRH are to be found napping in the comfort of a looming win. For now though, both teams appear well stacked up to produce a cracker.

What better than watching a riveting game of cricket to be aptly decided in the final over with Maxwell facing Steyn.

Be informed however that the best of teams have managed to play the dampest of squibs, hope this does not turn that way because KXIP vs SRH is surely a marquee clash this season.