The fortnight-long first phase of the Indian Premier League 2014, being held in the Middle East, is coming to a close on April 30. The dramatic, thrilling competition will be hosted by Bangladesh from May 1 to May 12, before it returns to India on May 13 to build up towards the competition's climax.

Although the locations of IPL 7 have been changed for the first phase of the season - as the timing clashed with the general elections in India - the format of the big-hitting festival has remained unchanged.

As things stand now, Kings IX Punjab, which struggled for existence during the last six seasons, are the early trend setters with eight points from four outings. More-fancied sides like the Chennai Super Kings and the Bangalore Royal Challengers have earned six and four points respectively from a similar number of games.

Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils (five matches) and Rajasthan Royals share four points each, while Sunrisers Hyderabad are placed second last on the table with just two points from three matches. Defending champions, the Mumbai Indians are at the bottom of the league table having lost all their four matches, and are highly unlikely to retain their title this season from here.

Kings XI Punjab took on Royal Challengers Bangalore, who lost their last two matches, on Monday. Punjab's good run is reflected from the team's victory margins against Chennai (six wickets), Rajasthan Royals (seven wickets) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (23 runs). While their batting lineup is led by Australian Glenn Maxwell, who is in explosive form this season, Punjab's bowlers have put in their bit whenever the team needed their services.

On the other hand, though Bangalore began their campaign this season with much confidence, winning against Delhi and Mumbai, they seemed to have lost track following their defeats to Kolkata and Rajasthan. Therefore, the team needs to sort out things before Sunday's encounter at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.

The matches can be watched live on Skycricket.net and GoCricket.com.

Two more matches will be played in the Middle East this season. While Kolkata Knight Riders will clash against Rajasthan Royals on April 29 in Abu Dhabi, the last game is between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on April 30. Both these games will start at 6.30 P.M. local time and 2.30 P.M. GMT (10.30 A.M. ETD) on Saturday and can be watched live on Skycricket.net and GoCricket.com.

A full schedule of the remaining games in the IPL 2014 can be seen by clicking here, with all games, dates and start times listed.