Struggling KXIP face KKR in a must-win game

The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season has almost reached its half-way mark and the KL Rahul-led Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) are yet to find winnings ways. 

The bottom-of the-table team will now be up against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday in what could be called a must-win game if they want to keep their play-offs hopes alive. With just a single win from six games, KXIP seem to be over-reliant on skipper Rahul, opener Mayank Agarwal and pace bowler Mohammad Shami. 

Barring the trio, the rest of the players have failed to click. Nicholas Pooran showed signs of the destruction he could cause in the middle-order in the game against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) but the Caribbean player needs to be consistent. 

Other hard-hitters like Glenn Maxwell have been completely silent so far. In the bowling department, Shami has led from the front with nine wickets from six games. Arshdeep Singh and Sheldon Cottrell need to be consistent. Spin duo Ravi Bishnoi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be key. The Dinesh Karthik-led KKR have six points from five games and will aim to consolidate their position in the top four of the pointstable. 

The KKR think-tank tinkered with the opening slot in their last game against Chennai Super Kings, promoting Rahul Tripathi u p t h e order. The ploy worked. Tripathi played a blistering 51-ball 81-run knock but once again, the others failed to support him In another match, Threetime Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been off-colour so far in the ongoing season. 

They will now be up against arch-rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Both sides have some great weapons in their armoury; the two have been inconsistent in the ongoing edition. While CSK sit at the sixth spot with just four points in their kitty, the Virat Kohli-led side is a step ahead. CSK’s major concern has been the middle-order. While Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis are in good form, the middle-order has let them down. Despite restricting Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a moderate total in their previous outing, the Yellow Brigade failed to overhaul the target by 10 runs. 

Kedhar Jadhav ’ s consecutive poor shows too have raised eyebrows. The CSK think-tank might axe him from the playing XI and include either N Jagadeesan or Mitchell Santner, who have been warming the bench till now. Moreover, Dhoni himself hasn’t been up to the mark, failing to finish off games.. Their bowling has no doubt improved as they restricted KKR to a chase-able total with their star all-rounder Dwayne Bravo also among the wickets.