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Pre Match Analysis

Tough challenge ahead for KXIP 

 PRETORIA, MAY 7: After a crushing defeat in their last game, KXIP has another tough challenge ahead when they face the in-form Chennai Super Kings on Thursday at Pretoria. A win will once again push KXIP to the top of the table while Chennai would get pushed down to fourth place. A loss, however, will see KXIP fall further behind the 8-ball as Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore battle it out for the top-of-table position.

Despite the big loss in the previous game, KXIP will feel reasonably confident going into today’s match. The first match between these two teams will certainly offer some great batting on display and it will eventually be down to the bowling and fielding to gain the upper hand. KXIP has had a mixed result in the field but they would be happy with their bowling effort thus far – the last match notwithstanding.

Yusuf Abdulla and Irfan Pathan will be key players as they would be expected to provide the initial breakthroughs. In light of Matthew Hayden opening the batting for CSK, it is unlikely that Ramesh Powar would open the bowling again. The return of S Sreesanth also offers another option to KXIP despite his lack of accuracy in the last game. “He’s returning after a while and he has worked hard on his fitness. His match fitness is something that will come with a few games and we expect the no-balls and other extras to be out the equation then,” said Tom Mooday, the KXIP coach.

On the batting front, Yuvraj Singh’s form and Mahela Jayawardene’s return to form will be the keys. Kumar Sangakkara has already shown that he is in good nick winning two man-of-the-match awards early in the tournament and KXIP will be hoping he can return to his run-scoring ways soon. The puzzle lies in the opening pair. Having tried three combinations since Ravi Bopara left for England, it remains to be seen what the team have in store against the pace of Manpreet Gony, L Balaji and Albie Morkel. Sudeep Tyagi is also someone to watch out for and he can offer a surprise or two.

For KXIP, it will be important to keep a check on the CSK batting. The last time they batted against the Deccan Chargers, they put up a huge 178 that proved too much for the Chargers to chase down.

With weather staying clear in Pretoria, there is an air of expectancy in the KXIP camp that they can bounce back from the last defeat and return to winning ways.

Post Match Analysis

Kings XI Punjab lose close thriller to Chennai

PRETORIA, MAY 7: Rain was in the air, but it didn’t play as big a part as some poor bowling and fielding did in a close 12-run loss.

Having to field after MS Dhoni won the toss, KXIP got off to the perfect start when Irfan Pathan had S Badrinath caught by VRV Singh off the first ball of the match. But the perfect start was lost when a couple of catches and a stumping was missed that allowed Suresh Raina and Matthew Hayden to wreak havoc and put up 75 runs in just 9 overs before a rain interruption forced play to be stopped for over an hour.

Upon resumption, Raina fell to Piyush Chawla for 32 (his third score of 32 in three innings) but that didn’t slow Hayden down at all. He continued to punish the KXIP bowling en route a match-winning 89 off just 58 balls. His six 6s and eight 4s had KXIP bowlers clueless. KXIP’s woes were further deepened when MS Dhoni joined Hayden in the middle and smashed a 56 off just 27 balls. The rain had reduced the match to 18 overs a side and Chennai Super Kings’ 185 for 3 was going to be a hard chase. After the disappointing bowling against the Royals a couple of days ago, more was expected of the bowling, but that wasn’t to be. “The bowling was not up to scratch at all today,” said a disappointed coach Tom Moody.

The KXIP chase didn’t begin well at all with Sunny Sohal falling in the first over for just 2. Karan Goel and Simon Katich put on 51 for the second wicket before Goel fell to Jakati for 14. But the man on fire for KXIP was Simon Katich who smashed a 50 off just 25 balls including four 6s and 3 boundaries. His innings gave the chase the impetus it required. Goel’s wicket brought skipper Yuvraj Singh to the crease and he began in earnest and went on to score an unbeaten 58 off just 36 balls. He was also well supported by Mahela Jayawardene who forged a 90-run partnership with the captain. Jayawardene was unbeaten on 44 off just 25 balls.

KXIP was ahead of CSK in comparative scoring till the 15th over. But a smart bowling change bringing on Suresh Raina paid rich dividends for CSK. Raina bowled two overs (the 16th and the 18th) and conceded just 8 runs off these to halt KXIP in their tracks. With 24 runs required off the final over, it was going to be a tough ask. Although Jayawardene hit 4 off the first ball, some good bowling by L Balaji ensured that there was no escape for KXIP.

Speaking after the game, Mahela Jayawardene said, “It was unfortunate to have lost. I think we fell short overall and could have done a lot of things better.” Mahela, who was especially effective against Muralitharan said it was a result of having played with him for a long time. “Myself and Sangakkara have spent a lot of our careers watching Murali bowl from the slips and behind the stumps and it is a bit easier for us. But you still have to play him and I was happy with how I batted,” he said.

But there wasn’t too much happiness for coach Tom Moody. “There are three disciplines in the game and we turned up with just one for the day. I have asked the bowlers to look at their games and take responsibility for their performances. We got ourselves in a position to win but if we deserved to be in that position is another thing. Our bowling and fielding was well below par and we were chasing probably 30 runs more than we should have been,” said Moody.

While bowling was the strength in the four wins KXIP has to their credit, it has been what has let them down the last two times. With the Deccan Chargers up next, it will be another tough challenge for the bowlers to face on Saturday.

With this loss, KXIP remain in 6th place ahead of Mumbai who have a game in hand at this stage and just one point to catch up with. Chennai are now top of the table with 11 points and a very healthy net run rate too.

KXIP’s next match is on Saturday in Kimberley against the Deccan Chargers.