Sporting a promising breed of hitters in its squad, primarily the newly emerged T20 sensations like Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, Kings XI started its 2016 IPL campaign against Gujarat Lions.
However, much against the preparations and the hype for this year’s edition of the Indian tournament, the Punjab team failed badly on its terms.
What went wrong?
Poor performance by major hitters
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A total of 4 Aussie talents- captain David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson and Marcus Stoinis, marked the team’s playing talents for the opening game. Except for Stoinis, who was up for his debut in that match, all three couldn’t bring any shine to the team’s performance.
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When Miller came after the dismissal of Vohra, things were looking pretty good for Punjab. They had a settled batsman at one end, Murali Vijay, who was nearing his fifty and the run rate was prospering. For a hitter like Miller, when half of the work was done by the opening partnership, brash hitting was fairy expected. When he was joined by Maxwell, expectations of the fans changed and so his role. However, Bravo dismissed them both.
No luck from Mitchell Johnson
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When bowlers had their turn, Mitchell Johnson failed to bring much success. Though he took the wicket of Ishan Kishan in the late overs, but by the time it happened it was all over for Kings XI. Besides striking late, the Aussie pacer was also criticised for delivering an expensive bowling spell.
Strategising the next(KXIPvDD)
Same for the openers, but little change in the follow-ups
Successful in the first match, the opening partnership of Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra would be and a must be against the Delhi Daredevils.
If Shaun Marsh would be fit before the game, there lies no obvious option to open the innings for Kings. Followed by them, Miller at number 3 still suffices for Kings XI. However, the number 4 spot can be filled in by last match’s newly discovered talent, Marcus Stoinis. Miller can consider putting Maxwell at number 5. In that way the combination of a hitter and a solid batsman (Wriddhiman Saha) can bring a nice balance at the last of the middle order pair.
Bracing the spin attack (Demand of Kotla)
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Considering the playing conditions in Delhi, introduction of one more spinner in the bowling squad can add to the chances of the team. KC Cariappa can be a perfect name in this situation. The leg-spinner has some great variations in its spin attack; googly, off-spin and sometimes the puzzling carom ball. This can come in handy against the highly struggling Delhi Daredevils batting form. Along with Cariappa, Axar Patel and the new talent Pradeep Sahu can shape a great spin attack for the Kings.
