Published: Apr 10, 2015, 07:25 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 10, 2015, 08:06 PM (IST)
The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the third match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 season. The match, which will be staged at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) ground in Pune, is to be regarded a ‘home’ game for KXIP. Both teams will be lead by Australians, with Shane Watson leading RR and KXIP having George Bailey at the helm. Live Cricket Score Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals IPL 2015 Match 3 at Pune
KXIP ended as first runners-up last season after losing to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final of IPL 7. The Kings XI Punjab will want to start their IPL 8 campaign on a high note. The Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, failed to even make it to the qualifiers despite having a brilliant start in the previous tournament. They’ll certainly be hoping for a bright start in this season too. KXIP in IPL 2015 Preview: IPL 7 runners-up will look to continue good form in IPL 8
It is tough to pick a favourite off the two sides as both teams have a decent blend of international and Indian stars. Watson has players like Steven Smith, James Faulkner, Tim Southee, Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson to choose from, while KXIP’s Bailey has names like Mitchell Johnson, David Miller, Glenn Maxwell and Axar Patel. He can also bank on the experience of Virender Sehwag to open the innings. Live Cricket Scorecard: IPL 2015, KXIP vs RR, Match 3 at Pune
The match is the first in the tournament for both sides and an early win can be critical to their qualification chances later on and it will also give the winning side early momentum in the tournament. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015: Complete coverage
Squads:
Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (c), Manan Vohra, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Axar Patel, Thisara Perera, Parvinder Awana, Sandeep Sharma, Murali Vijay, Mitchell Johnson, Rishi Dhawan, Anureet Singh, Beuran Hendricks, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karanveer Singh, Shardul Thakur, Shaun Marsh, Shivam Sharma, Nikhil Naik, Yogesh Golwalkar
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Sanju Samson(wk), Steven Smith, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner, Rajat Bhatia, Tim Southee, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Abhishek Nayar, Ben Cutting, Deepak Hooda, Dishant Yagnik, Vikramjeet Malik, Ankit Sharma, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Dinesh Salunkhe, RustyTheron, Pardeep Sahu, Brainder Sran, Sagar Trivedi
