Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings are evenly matched

Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings have had contrasting paths to the semifinals of the Indian Premier League. While Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI ensured their place in the knockout stage with some games left, the MS Dhoni-led Super Kings left it until their last game in the league stage to qualify for the semifinals.

Kings XI after a slow start in the league stage came into their own as they won 10 of their last 12 matches after ending up on the wrong side of the result in the first two encounters against the Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

On the other hand, the Super Kings who had a tremendous start to the IPL lost their way after the departure of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram as the team struggled to come up with the ideal playing XI.

The Super Kings though won both their league games against Kings XI and these two victories should give the Chennai side the psychological edge going into the semifinals on Saturday night, but based on recent performances and the composition of the squads, the teams look to be evenly matched as they look to book themselves a place in the final of the inaugural IPL.

The wins and losses in the league stages though important don't hold any water in the knockout stages as it comes down to which team plays better and is able to hold its nerve in the three-four hours that the game lasts.

For the record, Kings XI Punjab with 10 wins in their 14 league matches finished second in the points table, while Chennai Super Kings won eight of their games to finish third-best after the round robin stage.

Both Kings XI and Chennai Super Kings have terrific batting line-ups but the Punjab side has the edge in the bowling department with a balanced attack and the fact that three of their bowlers are in the top-10 wicket takers' list in the IPL indicates their ability to take wickets at regular intervals.

Also read: Road to the IPL semi-finals: Kings XI and Super Kings
Kings XI though have a better opening combination in Shaun Marsh and James Hopes as compared to the Super Kings' Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming. Marsh, who has been one of the success stories of the IPL, not only has won five man-of-the-match awards in the 10 matches he has played but also has the orange cap for being the leading run-scorer in the tournament.

During the course of his 115 against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday night, Marsh went past Delhi Daredevils opening batsman Gautam Gambhir's aggregate of 523 runs in the IPL. Marsh has now scored 593 runs with a highest score of 115 at an average of 74.12 and a strike rate of 139.85, and six of his 10 innings have been scores of 50 and above.

Even should Marsh and Hopes fail, Kings XI Punjab have the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, captain Yuvraj Singh, Mahela Jayawardene and Luke Pomersbach to get them to a competitive total.

Sangakkara had to miss a few league matches because of a rib injury, but has been in scintallating form since he has returned to the playing XI, and the Sri Lankan wicket-keeper has scored 317 runs from eight innings with a highest score of 94 and a strike rate of 163.40.

Yuvraj has had a rather quiet tournament so far but gave an indication of the damage he can do in this format of the game on Wednesday night against Rajasthan Royals when he scored a blistering 49 runs in only 16 balls.

Hopes has been expensive with the ball, but has scored 219 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 153.14, while Pomersbach who has been dismissed only once in his five innings has 152 runs to his name at a strike rate of 153.53.

Kings XI bowlers S Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla and Irfan Pathan all feature in the top-10 wicket takers list with Sreesanth featuring second on the list with 19 wickets from 14 matches at an economy rate of 8.67.

Yuvraj has done well to show his confidence in Chawla, and the young leg-spinner has justified his skipper's faith by picking up 17 wickets at an economy rate of 8.31. Chawla has also enhanced his reputation through the IPL and has been marked for greater success by most cricketing experts who have been commentators at the IPL.

Irfan has been unable to take too many wickets in recent matches but still has 14 wickets to his name at an impressive economy rate of 6.65. VRV Singh has been a tad too expensive but has played a supporting act to the trio with 12 wickets from as many matches, and burly off-spinner Ramesh Powar who has done well in the limited opportunities he has got completes the balanced Kings XI Punjab bowling attack.

On the other hand, Super Kings captain MS Dhoni has consistently maintained that his team's strength is its batting and the bowling is Chennai's weak link.

And, looking at the figures one does feel that Dhoni has a point here because Manpreet Gony, who is the leading wicket-taker for his team has taken 14 wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 7.67 and strike rate of 22.2.

Albie Morkel with 13 wickets from 11 matches and L Balaji with 11 wickets from seven matches have bowled well in patches but have conceded over 8.50 runs per over. Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan was expected to be the trump card for Chennai with the ball but he has managed to take only eight wickets in 13 matches at an economy rate of 6.92.

Dhoni would be hoping that his bowlers do a better job in the semi-finals and the final should the Super Kings get there.

With the bat, Dhoni and Suresh Raina who have both scored over 300 runs in the IPL have been the most consistent performers with the bat for the Super Kings, with Morkel, Patel and Fleming also chipping in.

Dhoni has made 385 runs in 13 innings at an average of 38.50 and a strike rate of 131.39, while Raina who hit the winning shot against Deccan Chargers that sent the Super Kings into the semis has scored 323 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 139.82.

However, the opening combination of Fleming and Patel has been unable to take advantage of the powerplay in the first six overs as can be gauged by the fact that while the former has a strike rate of 118.78 from 10 matches, India's former wicket-keeper batsman has scored his 213 runs at a strike rate of only 98.61.

Dhoni would do well to think of trying out a different opening combination in Morkel and Fleming for the semi-finals clash and move Patel lower down the order as a positive start would prove to be crucial in a knockout game.

The bowlers would also have to raise their game to either restrict the strong Kings XI batting line-up or bowl them out quickly should the Punjab side bat second.

The stage is set for a cracker of a contest and it is going to come down to the teams' ability to hold their nerves in crunch situations and not to get overawed by the moment. This match is too close to call, but I feel Kings XI Punjab go into the match holding a marginal edge over Chennai Super Kings.