Kings XI's hopes hinge on Mumbai defeat
Kings XI Punjab need to beat Chennai Super Kings to have a shot at making the playoffs, but that result matters only if Mumbai Indians have lost to Delhi Daredevils
Created - 6 years ago
Form guide (last three matches, most recent first)Chennai Super Kings: lost to Delhi Daredevils by 34 runs, beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets, lost to Rajasthan Royals by four wicketsKings XI Punjab: lost to Mumbai Indians by three runs, lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 10 wickets, lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 31 runs
For Kings XI to even have a chance of sealing the fourth and last playoff berth, they need Mumbai Indians to lose to Delhi Daredevils in the first game on Sunday. If Mumbai win, Kings XI are out.
However, even if Mumbai lose, Kings XI will not only have to beat Chennai Super Kings, but beat them by a big enough margin for their net run rate (presently -0.490) to surpass Rajasthan Royals' -0.250.
Just how did Kings XI Punjab end up here? They had won five of their first six games this season. They had a formidable opening partnership, a thinking captain with the ability to outwit oppositions, and a mystery spinner who made batsmen twitch at the prospect of facing him.
But then, KL Rahul started becoming their man for every situation. In the first half of the season, Rahul had Chris Gayle and Karun Nair firing at the other end. But they have both cooled off in the latter stages. Kings XI's middle order (Nos. 4 to 7) have totalled 674 runs in 13 matches at an average of 18.72. Only Rajasthan Royals have fared worse. The bowling has largely revolved around Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Andrew Tye, who has taken a bagful of wickets in their recent defeats.
The upshot was that Kings XI lost six of their last seven games.
Mujeeb missed Kings XI's last two matches after being hit on his bowling hand against Kolkata Knight Riders last week. He had his bowling hand strapped and underwent a fitness test on Saturday evening. Brad Hodge, the Kings XI coach, was hopeful he would clear the test and be available on Sunday. Yuvraj Singh had his left knee strapped but had a long stint in the nets.
In his first match of the season, Gayle blasted a 33-ball 63 to set Kings XI up for a tall score. Defending 197, Kings XI had CSK at 113 for 4 in the 14th over. But MS Dhoni fought a bad back to mount a stunning late assault as CSK pillaged 50 runs between overs 17 and 19. However, Mohit Sharma, defending 16 in the final over, gave away just six runs off the first five balls to deny CSK.
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Sam Billings, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Lungi Ngidi
Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Aaron Finch, 4 Karun Nair, 5 Yuvraj Singh/Manoj Tiwary, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Marcus Stoinis/Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 8 R Ashwin (capt), 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Ankit Rajpoot
"We are a new team with a new captain and we have learnt a lot from lessons of success and failure. I think, realistically, our middle order hasn't fired as much we would have expected and we are too reliant on a couple of bowlers who have kept us in the game. We haven't had consistency across the whole IPL. When our match-winners haven't fired, nobody has been able to pick up the pieces."Kings XI Punjab coach Brad Hodge
However, even if Mumbai lose, Kings XI will not only have to beat Chennai Super Kings, but beat them by a big enough margin for their net run rate (presently -0.490) to surpass Rajasthan Royals' -0.250.
Just how did Kings XI Punjab end up here? They had won five of their first six games this season. They had a formidable opening partnership, a thinking captain with the ability to outwit oppositions, and a mystery spinner who made batsmen twitch at the prospect of facing him.
But then, KL Rahul started becoming their man for every situation. In the first half of the season, Rahul had Chris Gayle and Karun Nair firing at the other end. But they have both cooled off in the latter stages. Kings XI's middle order (Nos. 4 to 7) have totalled 674 runs in 13 matches at an average of 18.72. Only Rajasthan Royals have fared worse. The bowling has largely revolved around Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Andrew Tye, who has taken a bagful of wickets in their recent defeats.
The upshot was that Kings XI lost six of their last seven games.
Mujeeb missed Kings XI's last two matches after being hit on his bowling hand against Kolkata Knight Riders last week. He had his bowling hand strapped and underwent a fitness test on Saturday evening. Brad Hodge, the Kings XI coach, was hopeful he would clear the test and be available on Sunday. Yuvraj Singh had his left knee strapped but had a long stint in the nets.
In his first match of the season, Gayle blasted a 33-ball 63 to set Kings XI up for a tall score. Defending 197, Kings XI had CSK at 113 for 4 in the 14th over. But MS Dhoni fought a bad back to mount a stunning late assault as CSK pillaged 50 runs between overs 17 and 19. However, Mohit Sharma, defending 16 in the final over, gave away just six runs off the first five balls to deny CSK.
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Sam Billings, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Lungi Ngidi
Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Aaron Finch, 4 Karun Nair, 5 Yuvraj Singh/Manoj Tiwary, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Marcus Stoinis/Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 8 R Ashwin (capt), 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Ankit Rajpoot
"We are a new team with a new captain and we have learnt a lot from lessons of success and failure. I think, realistically, our middle order hasn't fired as much we would have expected and we are too reliant on a couple of bowlers who have kept us in the game. We haven't had consistency across the whole IPL. When our match-winners haven't fired, nobody has been able to pick up the pieces."Kings XI Punjab coach Brad Hodge
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