Kings XI Punjab have already consumed all their lives. From now on, a single mistake can take the playoff spot away from them.
Five wins and seven losses from 12 matches so far mean they will be in a ‘must win’ situation every time they take the field. With 10 points in their kitty and just four matches left in the league stage, the only way for them to have an outside chance of qualifying for the knockout round is to win all their four remaining matches.
Theoretically, they still have a chance to make it to the top four but practically, it seems a bit improbable for a side who depend on individual performances for success, have out of form batsmen in their line-up and their bowlers run out of ideas in pressure situations.
But they’re also a team of talented individuals who can singlehandedly turn a match on its head. And their next opponents, Sunrisers Hyderabad, need to be on their toes when they face Punjab at the PCA stadium here on Saturday in order to avoid a defeat that can put their maiden IPl campaign slightly off the track.
So far, Sunrisers have done well, especially their bowling unit, to stay in contention for the next phase. Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra have been the spearheads of their bowling and others like Ishant Sharma and Thisara Perera have done their bit in helping the team punch above their weight. But, crushing loss in their last match against Chennai Super Kings has restated the shallowness in their batting.
The prolonged stretch of indifferent form of their two most experienced batsmen — Kumar Sangakkara and Cameron White — has been the main cause of their worry. Though the return of Shikhar Dhawan from injury has strengthened their batting, it is a consistent support from the middle-order that has been missing. A couple of late flourishes from Darren Sammy and other lower-order batsmen have been there but that hasn’t been enough.
And if Sunrisers want to stop Kings XI from spoiling their chances, they need their batsmen to fire from all cylinders and put up or chase down a big target because the opposition have a certain David Miller in their ranks. He can rip any bowling attack apart.
Good news for Punjab is that their skipper Adam Gilchrist, who benched himself for three matches after a series of low scores, batted well to score 42 against Rajasthan and hinted at regaining some form. With Shaun Marsh, who top-scored for his team in the losing cause on Thursday, Gilchrist, David Hussey and Miller in the line-up, Punjab batting looks dangerous, at least on paper.
like Hyderabad, Punjab’s bowling, though they disappointed in the last match, has been Punjab's strength this season. Praveen Kumar has led the bowling unit quite well using his in and out-swingers cleverly in the beginning and pin-point yorkers and change of pace in the death overs. Parvinder Awana and Manpreet Gony have made decent contributions to support Praveen’s efforts.
The points table may present a different picture but Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad are quite similar in their outlook. Both sides are led by internationally acclaimed wicketkeepers who have struggled with form this season; they don’t have big names to boast off and depend on the local talent to succeed.
When the two face each other on Saturday, for Punjab everything would be on the line while Hyderabad would look to close gap on the playoff spot.