Struggling Kings XI Punjab search for their second win in Dream11 IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kings XI Punjab are already in danger of leaving too much to do not even halfway through the tournament. With only 1 win from 6 games, Punjab have failed to live up to the ability they possess in their ranks. Their opponents, Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, will be high on confidence having snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the Chennai Superkings, and will be vying to make it 4 wins from 6.

Kings XI are an enigma. A team brimming with matchwinners, two of the top three run-scorers in their ranks, and individual performances which are worthy of wins, yet find themselves at the bottom of the table. The problem for the Kings has been their failure to fire collectively. On the days their openers perform, their middle order has failed to carry forward the momentum through to the end overs. Except for Nicholas Pooran, there have hardly been any noteworthy performances from those employed between three and six. Glenn Maxwell has been backed time and again but is yet to repose the faith shown in him by the Punjab think tank. 48 runs from 6 games with a highest of 13* is nothing near what would have been expected of a player who was one of the stars of the tournament the last time it had been held in the UAE.

36.3 overs were bowled between the time Kings XI had dismissed Rohit Sharma and David Warner. In between them, 408 runs had been scored against them and 2 games had been lost for Punjab. Ravi Bishnoi appears to be the only bowler capable of troubling the batsmen. Sheldon Cottrell has been largely hit and miss, and Mohammed Shami’s effectiveness has faded over the past three games. Mujeeb Ur Rahman did not have the desired impact on the game against the Sunrisers, but Punjab will be wise to play him for a couple more games before passing their judgment.

The decision to have two proper batsmen paid dividends for KKR with Rahul Tripathi repaying the faith shown in him with a fabulous 81. While the rest of their batting could not muster anything significant against CSK, Eoin Morgan has been in fantastic form, as has Shubman Gill. With Pat Cummins coming in to bat at number eight, KKR have enough depth to cover for any shortcomings from their top order.

The move to KKR has seemed to have done wonders to Varun Chakravarthy who has proved to be a pleasant surprise for the Knight Riders. He has the best economy and the joint-most wickets with five in Dream11 IPL 2020 among all the KKR bowlers and has rightly displaced Indian international Kuldeep Yadav from the playing eleven. The inexperienced Indian bowlers have stood up for KKR, and that will be a heartening sign for them. The India under-19 pair from 2018 of Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti have risen to the occasion even as their experienced counterparts in Pat Cummins and Sunil Narine are yet to come to the party.

The Knight Riders will be hoping to make early inroads into the KXIP batting, the Punjab middle-order proving fragile. As for Punjab, they will be hoping for a collective performance from all their departments in their quest for a second win in the tournament when the two teams meet in Abu Dhabi.