Whats Happened to Kings XI Punjab?

We had the battle today for the spot at the bottom in the points table. Both Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders were aiming to avoid this dubious place when they faced each other at Mohali. In the end Dada’s brigade was victorious with good performances in all the departments.
The main focus on my post is on why Kings XI Punjab isn’t winning this season. They have good players in their roster and as we saw in the previous seasons that they are capable of pulling of good performances. If we have a look at their squad from the previous seasons we will realize that they haven’t changed too many players. The core of the team has remained the same with only the change of the captain and the addition of a few new players. Here are a few things I have spotted in their current campaign and these are the reasons I think they aren’t winning as they would like to.
1. Absence of a stable opening pair: Only Ravi Bopara has been a regular feature for Punjab in the opening slot. His partners have been chopped and changed too many times in the six matches they have played. Manvinder Bisla opened in their first 3 games and had one good knock against Bangalore followed by a blob against the Chargers. Pathan’s antics against the Chargers earned him a promotion for the game against Chennai when he walked out to bat with Bopara. He did pretty well on a tricky wicket but then again in the next game Sangakkara opened against Rajasthan and he gave them a very quick start. Today we had Yuvraj Singh. If we have a look at the three new openers, they have done reasonably well but on all three occasions Bopara has failed to make an impact. Probably Kings XI may want Shaun Marsh back in the side but meanwhile they have to find one guy who can partner Bopara and that guy should be given a longer run than just a game.
2. Failure of the middle order: Apart from the game against Bangalore, we have seen that the middle order hasn’t contributed much. In fact it has collapsed in all the other 5 games. Bisla showed form at number 3 against Rajasthan but then again if we have a look at the scores of the Punjab middle order, it is disappointing. Yuvraj opened today but I think he is better off at number 4. He did well on a tricky wicket at Chennai and the middle order is the best place for him. Sangakkara, Jayawerdena and Yuvraj are fixed features in the middle order but they need one more batsman to play the role for them. They have tried Barath (who is an opener), Kaif and Goel till now. Irfan is good at his spot and I think he can be promoted to come after Jayawardena. Thus, Punjab have to find one batsman to follow Irfan.
3. Spin Bowling: There was an interesting stat put up during the broadcase today. Piyush Chawla has been hit for the most number of sixes during the tournament. You don’t expect that from your frontline spinner. He is young and it will be a learning experience but Punjab need another spinner or another bowler who can support him at the other end. They have tried Bipul Sharma, Ramesh Powar but haven’t given either of them a long run.
4. Death Bowling: In almost all the games, the Punjab fast bowlers have bowled fantastic first spells but have taken a beating in the slog overs. This shouldn’nt happen as runs given during the slog overs easily change the momentum of the game. Juan Theron has been good but didn’t play today and Irfan Pathan seems to have found his line and length but again he took a beating in his last over today.

Tom Moody and Sangakkara will have all this in mind and they will certainly try to find solutions to their problems. Their fans should keep supporting them and who knows they can make a turnaround soon. They have 8 matches and if they are to book a place in the semis they need to win atleast 7. A tall order but not impossible as we have seen unlikely things happening in cricket.
Tomorrow Chennai will take on Rajasthan at 4 and Mumbai face Deccan at their “home” ground in Navi Mumbai. A home ground where the crowd will support the away team. You don’t get to see that often do you. The match between Chennai and Rajasthan will be interesting as one team is rebuilding its campaign after a nightmarish start and the other who has just lost its way during the last few games.
Untilt then See you.