IPL 2017 : GL VS KXIP Match Prediction – Who Will Win

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• published: 22 Apr 2017
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IPL 2017 : GL VS KXIP Match Prediction – Who Will Win The Match 26 of this edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) will be between Gujarat Lions (GL) and the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium at Rajkot. Following their emphatic victory against Kolkata on Friday night, Suresh Raina-led Gujarat will be high on confidence ahead of this home fixture. Whereas Punjab, on the other hand, will be keen to keep their campaign back on track after four back to back defeats. Both Lions and Kings are batting heavy teams and with plenty of big hitters around in both dressing rooms, the Sunday crowd at Rajkot can expect a high scoring encounter. The likes of Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Dwayne Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Eoin Morgan, David Miller can give a tough time to bowlers on the flat Rajkot track. However, bowlers of both teams have leaked a lot of runs. Gujarat conceded 187 in the previous match against KKR and Punjab could not defend 198 against Mumbai on Thursday night. Thus, bowlers of both sides will look to have a better day at the office in the 4 PM game. We are still at the initial stage half of the this IPL 10 and for teams like Gujarat and Punjab, who have won only two out of their six games, a victory at this stage, will be vital here to keep aiming for the playoff stages. Let’s have a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the both the teams. Gujarat Lions strengths: As it has been mentioned earlier, the power-packed batting line-up is the strength of the Gujarat. The likes of Raina, MacCullum, Finch, Smith, Jadeja are considered as match winners in this format. The skipper is fresh from his match-winning 46-ball 84 against Kolkata. So Lions will depend heavily on their batting to deliver the goods. Gujarat Lions weaknesses: Gujarat bowlers have taken 19 wickets in previous six encounters and this shows that bowling is their main worry. Ravindra Jadeja — Gujarat’s biggest bowling weapon — is yet to fire and has had a poor economy rate of 10.12 in four matches having taken only one wicket. Praveen Kumar’s lack of pace and swing has meant he has been hit at an economy rate of 10.32 over five games. Amongst Gujarat bowlers, only the young pacer from Kerala, Basil Thampi has impressed with his ability to bowl yorkers at the death. Though he too has an economy rate on the higher side – 8.88. Kings XI Punjab strengths: Punjab can bank upon their strong batting to chase down any target. But they face problems when it comes to setting a target. In the bowling department, Sandeep Sharma has put up some inspiring performances in the previous matches. Kings XI Punjab weaknesses: Punjab are currently struggling to get their combination right. They don’t have a match winner in the bowling department and this is hurting Punjab badly. The spinners Axar Patel and Swapnil Singh are not having a best of the tournament. So Maxwell and the team management need to come up with a better gameplan for their bowlers. Likely XIs Gujarat Lions: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (C), Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, Praveen Kumar, Basil Thampi, Dhawal Kulkarni. Kings XI Punjab: Hashim Amla, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Glenn Maxwell (C), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Singh, Swapnil Singh, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Ishant Sharma. Pitch and weather conditions: The wicket at the SCA Stadium at Rajkot has been a batting paradise. So toss is going to be very crucial as both batting heavy teams will prefer to chase here. The wicket might have a trick or two for the slow bowlers. Don't Forget To Like Comment And Subscribe :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMsVs5KOUJ6vX-PazBAKiXQ Google+ : https://plus.google.com/103919016618525636655