Kings XI Punjab has been a rejuvenated side. After not winning for even a single trophy in the first ten years, King XI Punjab had a very good IPL auction this year and began the season heroically. KL Rahul batting in an excellent form won them the matches, it was then the turn of Chris Gayle who thwacked bowlers. KXIP have a good bowling unit as well this year.

All these factors have made KXIP one of the favorite teams to win the trophy. So far in the tournament, KXIP have won five out of their eight matches. They just need to win three matches out of their remaining six matches to confirm their in the playoffs, even though they lost their previous match to Mumbai Indians.

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Before the season began, KXIP retained only one player, the left-arm all-rounder Axar Patel. KXIP is the only team to have a bowling captain in the IPL 2018. Ashwin has done well as the captain and has led the team with high confidence. Speaking about the captaincy, Axar Patel said that having Ravi Ashwin as the captain has helped him as a bowler himself, in the few matches he has played.

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Axar Patel said, “As a bowler, it is always good to have a captain who is a bowler himself. The communication about how to make strategies against a particular batsman and all gets easier in such a case because, at the end of the day, only a bowler can understand a bowler fully. And of course, it has been a great experience playing under Ashwin, because he keeps giving ideas on areas to work on and how to improve.”

Speaking about the other teams, there was one team which Axar rated very high. Axar chose Chennai Super Kings and he said, “I think Chennai Super Kings are doing well and can make it [to the finals]. If you see, they have one new player being the match-winner in every other game, and both their batting and bowling units are firing. Based on how they are playing right now, they stand a strong chance of making it to the finals.”

CSK are currently at the second spot with seven wins and three losses. Kings XI Punjab face Rajasthan Royals at the Holkar Stadium, Indore tonight.