On Sunday, first Delhi Daredevils chased down 161 against Mumbai Indians with such ease that the target was lying there to be taken over and then Kings XI Punjab did the unexpected to overhaul 185 against Pune Warriors India.
If winning on Sunday night was crucial for their survival in the tournament, DD-CSK face-off at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here on Tuesday would be crucial for their future in the tournament.
It was certainly a big relief for the Daredevils to snap their six-match losing streak, and the convincing manner in which the win came must have enhanced their self-belief. Similar thing can be said about KXIP considering their inconsistency in the recent past.
For Delhi, it was just the first step in the long and tough qualification journey for the knockout rounds. In that respect, Punjab are in a much better position having secured three wins from six matches.
But to say that their tough time is over wouldn't be exactly correct.
Virender Sehwag playing such a superb innings out of the blue would hold no significance for the team if they can't maintain the momentum. He has done that before as well but like his batting style, Sehwag's form too can come and go quickly. And his inconsistency in the recent past doesn’t augur well. Having said that, he is undeniably one of the most dangerous players in any form of cricket and holds the key for whatever minimal possibility the team has to reach the qualifiers.
The decision to pair him with skipper Mahela Jayawardene at the top was good. Having a player like Jayawardene at the other end has calming influence on Sehwag while, as the Sri lankan admitted after the match, Viru's presence takes a lot of pressure off him. The hot and cold combination of Sehwag and Jayawardene is a perfect one for the struggling side.
With Kedar Jadhav playing well in the middle-order and the inclusion of experienced Venugopal Rao in place of Manpreet Juneja makes it a good enough batting line-up, something Delhi have been missing so far. However, dropping Morne Morkel, their best bowler last season, in favour of Russell Arnold doesn't make much sense. Experienced Morkel is the backbone of their pace-heavy bowling and they need to plan their strategy around him to form a potent bowling attack.
Kings XI Punjab's campaign too hasn't been smooth. Out of their three wins so far, they have two against Warriors and between those twin victories, Punjab played four other matches and lost three of them.
Their main worry is the form of their skipper Adam Gilchrist, who has just scored 15, 9, 0, 7, 26 and 4 in six innings. But David Miller playing a superb knock on Sunday night must have come as a big relief for the Punjab side. He provides them another batsman to rely on besides Mandeep Singh and David Hussey, who have been contributing bulk of the runs.
Australian Shaun Marsh has joined the team but he won't be available for Tuesday's match against Daredevils. He is yet to regain match fitness.