IPL 2017 Player Battles: Top 4 player encounters to look for in the Kings XI Punjab vs Rising Pune Supergiant match

Can Maxwell fire in his first outing as captain?

The 4^th match of IPL 2017 will feature Kings XI Punjab playing host to Rising Pune Supergiant at their newly designated home venue – Holkar Stadium, Indore. It will be the first game of the season for KXIP whereas RPS are already amongst the points after their emphatic win over Mumbai Indians in their first game.

Both teams had a torrid time during the last season as RPS and KXIP occupied the 7^th and the 8^th position on the points table respectively. As far as their head to head battles are concerned, it’s even stevens as both teams won one game apiece in the previous two meetings.

Extra Cover: KXIP vs RPS Match Prediction: Who will win today's match between the Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiant, IPL 2017, Match 4

RPS have already got off to a great start this year and they would look to carry the momentum against KXIP who, on the other end, would be hoping to make amends after their dismal show in the previous season.

Here is a look at key battles between the two teams ahead of the all-important game:

#1 Glenn Maxwell vs Steve Smith

Image result for steve smith ipl\ — Smith was sensational in RPS’s opening game

It will be a battle of the two Aussie captains. Maxwell replaced Murali Vijay as the KXIP skipper whereas Smith took over the job from MS Dhoni for RPS.

There was plenty of talk when Maxwell was selected for the job despite having experienced international captains in the squad like Eoin Morgan and Darren Sammy. The Punjab side have had a number of skippers over the years and the expectations on the hard-hitting batsman will be immense. It would be interesting to see how he handles the responsibility having no experience with the role before.

Smith, on the other hand, has been the regular captain of the Australian side in Tests as well as ODIs. Before the game against MI, Smith had last played a T20 in May 2016. However, he transferred his Test form to the shortest format and played a match winning 84 to put the controversy surrounding Dhoni’s sack to rest for a while.

The Aussie influence in both teams is bound to raise the aggression level and it will be intriguing to watch which one of them would emerge victorious.