In the post-match press conference after a crushing nine-wicket loss at the hands of Delhi Daredevils on Friday, Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar sought to take the blame for team’s poor performance on himself.
It was their sixth loss in eight games so far, technically making each of the remaining six games a must win. But Bangar’s assertion that only a ‘miracle’ can turn around the team’s fortunes in the IPl has already suggested that it’s all but over for the last year’s finalists.
Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, won their match against Rajasthan Royals on Friday night to earn two crucial points, some breathing space and a place above Kings XI in the points table. Though Mumbai aren’t playing any better cricket than Punjab and are still languishing towards the bottom, two wins in last two matches would have given them a lot of confidence.
When the two sides meet here at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium on Sunday, the game will be billed as the battle of bottom dwellers. But, in the professional environments of twenty20 league cricket, such billings don’t dictate the narratives. Despite their chances of going ahead being minimal, a good fight can be expected between the two sides.
What has hurt Kings XI Punjab the most this year is the failure of their top stars. Glenn Maxwell, who was one of the top-run getters last year, has scored just 62 runs from five outings this year with a top score of 33. Virender Sehwag has 97 runs in seven innings. Similarly Mitchell Johnson hasn’t been as effective as he was last year. Captain George Bailey has done most of the scoring for the Kings XI with occasional support of David Miller, Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha.
For Mumbai, it is a problem of cohesiveness. Rohit Sharma, Kieorn Pollard, lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh, all have performed well time to time but rarely together. They also had some problem with opening pair but that has been solved (or it looks like) with Parthiv Patel and lendl Simmons giving them a fine start more often than not. Bowling seems fine as Malinga is getting better and better each day and in Mitchell McClenaghan they have found an aggressive seam operator.
Punjab had beaten Mumbai in the first leg at Wankhede Stadium by 18 runs. So, on Sunday, Mumbai would aim to avenge the loss at Punjab’s home ground, while the hosts would like to keep the bragging rights.