The ICC World Cup 2011 may be over, but it seems that cricket has just started in India.
The fourth edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League kicked off
soon after the Men in Blue were crowned the world champions and since
then, the fans have witnessed
some entertaining T20 cricket. The shortest version of the game is
always fun to watch and it has been a treat for the Indian fans until
now.
One of the better performing teams in this year’s IPL has been the
Kings XI Punjab. The team didn’t get off to an ideal start to the
season, losing the first match against the Pune Warriors (PWI). However,
they bounced back strongly in their next couple
of matches, winning against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Deccan
Chargers (DC). They will next face the Rajasthan Royals (RR), at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on Thursday 21 April.
The best result for KXIP in IPL has been a semi-final finish in the
inaugural season of the cash-rich tournament. However, the team was
unable to live up to the expectations of their fans in the next two
editions.
The leadership of the team has been handed over to former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist
this time around. The veteran cricketer was the skipper of DC in the
previous editions of the tournament and led his team to a title victory
in the
second season of IPL.
Gilchrist was expected to repeat the same performance, but this time
for a different outfit. His team was defeated in the first match, as the
batting failed miserably. The South African all-rounder, Ryan McLaren,
was the only player to make an impression
in the match, scoring an unbeaten 51 off 43 balls. His effort went in
vain though, as the team was unable to defend 112 against the Yuvraj
Singh led squad.
KXIP was under immense pressure, as their next match was against the defending champions CSK. The MS Dhoni led side scored a massive total of 188 runs after they were put into bat by Gilchrist.
Things looked grim for Punjab, but a special effort from opening batsman Paul Valthaty
guided the team to an easy victory in the end. The flamboyant batsman
scored an unbeaten 120 runs off just 63 balls with the help of 19 fours
and two sixes. His effort
stunned the strong opposition, as the target was chased with five more
balls to spare.
Valthaty’s innings gave a lot of confidence to the team and they
carried that into the next game against DC. Gilchrist and his men were
yet again given a big target of 166 to chase, but the team reached it
with effortless ease.
The opening partnership between KXIP’s captain and Valthaty was worth
136 runs in just 14 overs, which took the game away from Kumar
Sangakkara and his men. The pair scored 61 and 75 runs in the innings,
making things easier for their middle-order batsmen.
Although things have looked quite good for the Punjab's team, they
need to sort out a few things before their next game. The middle-order
of the team has appeared to be vulnerable and if a couple of early
wickets fall in the innings, there will be immense
pressure on the team.
Apart from the batting, the team will need to emphasis on their
bowling department as well. KXIP has allowed their oppositions in all
three matches to score runs quickly and if the trend continues, things
will become difficult for them.
However, the winning momentum would have brought a lot of confidence
in the team, which will make things easier for them in the upcoming
matches.
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