Lessons for KKR vs KXIP - What the teams can take away after IPL encounter

The roar is back and so is the bhangra as the Kings XI Punjab make their way to yet another victory in this season of the Indian Premier League, thrashing the Kolkata Knight Riders by 23 runs. Having being the inferior kings to the Super Kings from Chennai for the last six seasons, they have come all out to reverse that title this season.

In a format where the law of averages catches up faster than in any other format of cricket, Punjab have managed to keep their winning streak alive this season, winning all four encounters this season. Having been accused of being light on the bowling front, a slower pitch and an out of form KKR line-up proved just the tonic they needed. This season for them just keeps getting better after having been the most under performing team over the last six seasons.

Kolkata on the other hand slipped to their second defeat of the season which could easily have been their third had it not been for Chris Lynn’s acrobatics near the boundary rope in their game against the RCB. This defeat will certainly open up glaring blunders in their batting which need to be addressed at the earliest.

Points Table:

Team	Matches Played	Wins	Losses	Current Position	Points	Net RR
Kings XI Punjab	4	4	0	1	8	+1.517
Kolkata Knight Riders	4	2	2	4	4	+0.193

Key moments -

Toss - Gautam Gambhir won the toss and chose to field first on a track which saw the Royal Challengers Bangalore fold up for a mere 70 in the first game. On a slow wicket which was sure to get slower as the match progressed, backing the out of form batting line up to chase a target under lights against the pace and swing of Mitchell Johnson wasn’t the smartest strategy in hindsight.

Punjab’s batting collapse - Punjab’s two trusted generals, Glenn Maxwell and David Miller couldn’t pull off another show of batting fireworks today, but Virender Sehwag found his touch and a slice of his luck to guide his team to 100 for 4 and looked set for a big score with captain George Bailey at the crease. But it wasn’t to be as the spin twins, Sunil Naraine and Piyush Chawla spun a web around the batsmen to leave Punjab struggling at a below par total of 132 for the loss of nine wickets after their quota of 20 overs.

Kolkata’s power play batting - Despite chasing a below par 132 for victory, KKR found themselves tottering at 24 for the loss of three wickets at the end of the power play overs. Sandeep Sharma, Mitchell Johnson and Lakshmipathy Balaji bowled an immaculate length on this surface which prevented the batsmen from freeing their arms. Sandeep Sharma picket up two wickets in his three overs which included a maiden and gave away only nine runs. Mitchell Johnson regained his bowling rhythm and bowled with some serious pace to unsettle Gambhir and Kallis. Gautam Gambhir was given the loudest cheer of the day when he survived a dropped chance off Sandeep Sharma and Johnson’s chin music to take a single to prevent an ‘Audi-esque’ performance, but that was all he could score as he holed out to mid-off looking to hit over the infield.

Robin Uthappa’s wicket- KKR were still in the game with a chance to pull off an unlikely victory till Robin Uthappa was at the crease. He had taken his time and scored 19 of 26 balls and was looking to cut loose. But a moment of madness under pressure made him look for a non-existent single after tapping the ball to George Bailey at short cover and an accurate throw from Bailey to hit the base of the timber meant that Uthappa was dismissed and so were KKR’s hopes. Suryakumar Yadav’s late valiant hitting was asking for a little too much, a little too late.

Strategies for the next game -

Kolkata Knight Riders -

Promote Suryakumar Yadav up the order - He is their only Indian batsman in their side who looks to be in some sort of form and he showed it with some clean hitting and delightful strokes over the last few games batting at number seven. He has the ability to use his feet well and hit the ball in the unmanned areas. A promotion up the order to number five in place of Robin Uthappa or Yusuf Pathan beckons. Yusuf’s performance with the bat has been extremely poor given his ability and experience. Batting lower down the order at number seven will help him keep his mind uncluttered and play the way he knows best- to smash every delivery.

Change the opening combination - KKR desperately need a swashbuckling batsman at the top of the order, who takes on bowling attacks and pushes the opposition on the back foot. All the three openers tried so far – Jacques Kallis, Manish Pandey and Gautam Gambhir aren’t the most aggressive batsmen and have also failed to put up one solid partnership to lay the foundation for the middle order to explode. Gautam Gambhir’s demotion down the order today showed his lack of confidence in himself. A new opener in the form of Manvinder Bisla could be a good addition to the current team in place of Manish Pandey or even Yusuf Pathan who looks completely out of sorts. Bisla, as he showed us in the previous seasons takes on the bowlers and looks to play his shots. This could well be the shot in the arm that KKR are looking for.

Kings XI Punjab -

Guard against complacency - Having a hundred percent record after the first four games in the IPL is unheard of, and Punjab have managed just that. But they need to guard themselves from complacency as they still have another ten matches to play. Maxwell and Miller have been at the centre of attention this season and it is obvious that every team they play against now will have a specific strategy to get them out. The two ‘Ms’ hold the key to Punjab’s batting performance and need to ensure that they continue to contribute the way they have so far.

George Bailey’s position - This was the first game where George Bailey had to come out to bat knowing that Maxwell and Miller had departed. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to promote himself up the order incase the team loses a couple of quick wickets within the first five overs to ensure that David Miller could play as a finisher,a role which he plays to perfection.

The season thus far has put forth contrasting images for both teams as one keeps going from strength to strength and the other searching hard for inspiration. But all it takes it just one game for all this to turn around. That is the beauty of the IPL.