Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers: Deccan Batsmen to watch out for Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers: Deccan Batsmen to watch out for The Deccan Chargers have talent, class and experience in their batting line-up. The top Deccan’s batsmen in the game against Kings XI Punjab include Sunny Sohal, Jean-Paul Duminy, Shikhar Dhawan and Bharat Chipli. Sunny Sohal One of the best batsmen in the Deccan team, Sohal is a classy right-hander who loves to drive the ball on the up. With strong technique and temperament, he is a fantastic player of the cut and the pull. The responsibility of batting at the opening position has turned him into a dependable batsman with the ability to play the anchor role for his side. The Indian batsman has already shown his talent in the tournament. He has been the most reliable and consistent player in the current Deccan crew. In 32 Twenty20 matches, Sohal has scored 511 runs at a fabulous strike rate of 116.93. With an unbelievable combination of belligerence and sensibility, the stylish player will definitely be a key batsman for the Deccan outfit. Jean-Paul Duminy Duminy is an explosive left-hander who bats lower down the order with a hard-line batting approach. Along with extra-ordinary batting skills, the South African all-rounder holds brilliant control over his strokes. Being an experienced and talented player in the Deccan set-up, Duminy is expected to perform well in the in Deccan’s last game of the season. Furthermore, he is yet to show his magic in the competition and the match against Punjab will be his last opportunity to prove his worth. Duminy has played 99 Twenty20 matches in which he scored 2403 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of almost 120. Shikhar Dhawan Dhawan is a young and talented left-hander who holds great respect in the domestic cricket circuit of India. He has proven his worth on many occasions before joining the Deccan side. In the Under-19 World Cup of 2003, he was named as the ‘Man of the Tournament’ due to his excellent performance with the bat. The Indian batsman possesses consistency, aggression, skills and game changing guts. Dhawan started his IPL with Delhi Daredevils and went on to join the Deccan Chargers later. In his Twenty20 career, Dhawan has participated in 57 matches and has 1311 runs to his credit. Bharat Chipli Chipli is a young Indian batsman with a natural talent for the shortest format of the game. The 28-year-old cricketer is considered to be the best all-rounder in the Deccan side. He is expected to fire in the game against Punjab as it will be his last chance to prove a point in the in the ongoing league. The right-hander holds some exceptional batting skills that help him pile-up big scores. Chipi has played 17 T20 matches in which he scored 261 runs at a strike rate of over 120. With the absence of Kumar Sangakkara, Chipli will be a vital player for the side. After comparing the batsmen of the two teams, it would not be wrong to say that both teams have some quality batsmen in their line-up. The match will be an interesting show as there are some true entertainers in both sides. However, it will be exciting to see how these batting gurus make the most of the conditions and lead their respective side to a much-needed triumph.

One of the most successful openers in all three formats of the game over last two years, Shane Watson is keen on continuing batting at the top for Australia.

Watson has been in great touch off late and has been plundering big scores in Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket; in Australia’s last international series, he thumped a world record 15 sixes in an innings in the second ODI against Bangladesh on his way to a belligerent 185 not out.

His test match form has been good too, however, he has struggled to convert his fifties into hundreds, yet there is no denying the fact that at present he remains the most feared opener across the three formats of the game.

Watson spoke to media in India, where he is representing the Rajasthan Royals in the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL), he claimed that Australian captain Michael Clarke has told him that he would continue to bat at the top, yet Watson is willing to come down the order if the team management needs him there.

"I do love opening the batting and at the moment my conversations with Michael [Clarke] and with the team hierarchy have been that things won't change," Watson told reporters. "But if the best balance for the team is batting a little bit lower, in the end we have to find out what the best combination for our batting order is going to be."

The Tasmanian is targeting the tour of Sri Lanka later in the year, he thinks that he has done well in sub-continental conditions and his vast experience of playing in India would hold him in good stead for the test and ODI series. He added that the entire team was looking forward to playing one of the top ranked teams in the world in their own backyard.

"I feel like I am solid against spin but it's always a thing I can improve on," he said. "I have been lucky to play a lot of cricket in India over the last couple of years, but it is a continual development for me to find ways of moving my feet a bit more and not just sitting in the crease, finding that balance."

The IPL campaign for Royals was signed off by a remarkable innings by Watson, who scored an unbeaten 80 odd to take his team to a 10-wicket win. He hopes that the coming months would give him similar success at international level also as the Australians aim to re-build after a string of poor performances, which culminated in an Ashes defeat and loss in the quarterfinals of the ICC World Cup 2011 in March.