Deccan Chargers

Deccan Chargers look to play for pride when they take on Kings XI Punjab on Friday. The Preity Zinta-owned team would be looking to seal another win to confirm their berth in the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League. It by no means would be an easy task as the Chargers are up against a team that would be playing on their home turf and have won eight of their 11 games so far.
The Punjab side, that on Wednesday defeated Mumbai Indians by one run in a thrilling encounter in Mumbai, know that despite having almost qualified for the semi-finals, they will need one more win to be on the safer side when the list of four teams is drawn.
Punjab Cricket Association curator Daljit Singh, also the chairman of BCCI’s grounds and pitches committee, said he had been keeping the wickets covered for the past couple of days. “If wickets are covered for long, it will result in moisture which will make the ball seam more. It won’t be a good situation for the batsmen. But we are hoping that rain doesn’t fall on Friday at least.
We have three super soppers and other equipment to dry the ground, which should not be a problem, but only thing is that we should get some sunshine for a few hours,” Daljit said.

With his Australian counterpart 23-year-old Luke Pomersbach, both the left-handers are emerging as a dangerous combination. Then there are the likes of Sri Lankan pair Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and captain Yuvraj Singh, who even though has not had a good run with the bat, is still capable of launching an attack single-handedly.

On Cricket Australia having begun formulating regulations to start a IPL-type competition Down Under, the Australian wicket-keeper batsman said he read but was not much aware much about it.