MOHALI: In a desperate bid to resurrect their flagging campaign, Kings XI Punjab will look forward to home advantage to put it across the Royal Challengers Bangalore, when the two sides face each other at the PCA stadium on Monday.
To be fair to the Punjab team, they have been more on the road this season, playing seven of their 10 games away. It is in stark contrast to the other teams - Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings - who turned their respective grounds into impregnable fortresses this season.
In contrast, Punjab have played only three matches at home and won two of those, their only loss coming at the hands of Chennai Super Kings. However, three consecutive away losses (to the Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings) have nearly put Kings XI Punjab out of the semifinals race. The last two were particularly heartbreaking as the Kings were in the race till the last over.
Once again the Punjab team will depend on their foreign recruits - David Miller, Shaun Marsh and David Hussey - to bail them out of a potential difficult spot. This time though, the bowling department (which conceded 186 and 174 in last two matches) has to deliver else they could be in for a tough time against Bangalore's strong batting line-up.
A batting order which starts with the stormy Chris Gayle, flourishes on the back of a consistent Virat Kohli and ends with AB De Villiers' innovation. Royal Challengers, meanwhile, will look to continue what they started in their last match against Pune Warriors - set their rather unsatisfactory away record straight.
While, the focus of any Royal Challengers' match is on Gayle, who has set the tournament on fire with his raw power-hitting, there are others in this Bangalore line-up who have contributed. In bowling, Vinay Kumar and RP Singh have taken up the challenge to bail their team out of a tight spot, time and again.
Going by the trends this season, Punjab will have high hopes of winning a home match; however, the Royal Challengers is keen on spoiling the party for the home team.
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