Kings XI Punjab face Rajasthan Royals in the first of two games to be played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday. The game will be held at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.

Rahul Dravid
IPL

Where to Watch Live

Play starts at 11:30am BST. Live coverage will be available on ITV 4 and ITV 4 HD. Follow the match live, via text updates, on ESPN Cricinfo.

Overview

Kings XI come into this game after successfully chasing 191 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in an epic performance. Punjab looked down and out after half-centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and Chris Gayle, backed by hurricane innings from AB de Villiers and Moises Henrique ensured a commanding 190/3 in 20 overs. Manpreet Gony and Michael Neser were particularly poor for Punjab, with a combined 103 runs from their eight overs.

The chase began in dismal fashion, with R Vinay Kumar, R Rampaul and Murali Kartik striking four times inside the first 10 overs. Mandeep Singh, Shaun Marsh and David Hussey, who were expected to lead the run chase all fell cheaply and ti was left to David Miller to script an impossible one-man win for Punjab. The Australian remained unbeaten on 101 off 38 balls.

The win means Punjab remain in contention for a knock-out stage berth. They have 10 points and five wins from 11 games.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals also play with a comfortable win behind them. Rahul Dravid's men disposed off Delhi Daredevils with a minimum of fuss. The 2008 champions have strengthened their third place in the table and barring a meltdown, should qualify for the next round.

The Daredevils continue to flounder in IPL 2013 and a miserly spell of 1/3 from two overs, by Stuart Binny, backed by 1/21 from Siddharth Trivedi, restricted Mahela Jayawardene's side to 154/4. The captain played a decent innings of 34 from 31 balls but lacked any support from established seniors like Virender Sehwag. And after the usually reliable David Warner failed, it was left to Ben Rohrer and Kedhar Jadhav to post a decent total; the Australian managed 64 off 40 balls.

Rajasthan have been one of the picks of the tournament so far and their batsmen showed just why, with openers Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane setting up the win with a 108-run partnership. Both Indians scored half-centuries and Shane Watson mopped up the winning runs.

Team Form

Kings XI Punjab

  • Last Five (most recent first): W L L L W
  • Last Result: Kings XI Punjab beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets

Rajasthan Royals

  • Last Five (most recent first): W W L W W
  • Last Result: Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by nine wickets