IPL 2012: Double header Sunday today as Rajasthan face Pune; Punjab lock horns with Deccan

Zeenews Sports Bureau

New Delhi: It is a Double header Sunday today as 8th placed Pune Warriors India will face off against Rajasthan whereas bottom placed Deccan Chargers will try to spoil the party of Kings XI Punjab at Mohali. Rajasthan Royals are lying sixth in the table with 12 points from 13 matches and have to win the remaining three to keep their playoff hopes alive and going against the struggling Pune Warriors the Dravid led team would fancy their chances of winning. Click for complete match preview: Rajasthan Vs Pune» The recent failure of Ajinkya Rahane has hurt them but Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has looked in top form. Dravid has been in good nick as well but the rest did not play to expectations at least in the last match. On the other hand, Pune might be lying low and almost out of contention but they have to prove a point. They have a decent line-up that includes the likes of Australian skipper Michael Clarke, Dwayne Smith, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey who can be explosive on their day. The other match in the evening at 8 pm will feature Kings XI Punjab locking horns against Deccan Chargers. With 12 points from an equal number of matches, the Punjab side, which managed to reach semi-final only once, in 2008, is placed at seventh in the table. Click for complete match preview: Punjab Vs Deccan» Kings XI Punjab find themselves in a must-win situation and Led by stand-in captain David Hussey, KXIP will have this daunting task at the back of their minds. Opener Mandeep Singh has been the prolific scorer for his team accumulating 359 runs so far. Australian Shaun Marsh, former Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood and young South African David Miller too have shown that the home side`s batting has depth. Punjab`s clash with the Hyderabad team may be inconsequential for the Kumar Sangakkara-led team but they will be playing for pride and hoping they notch up a win or two from the remaining games to salvage some prestige.