Will this year be again unlucky for Dada's Warriors?

A new captain, a new home stadium, a new marquee name – Pune Warriors India hoped that all these would translate into better luck in IPL – 5. But things are not turning out the way they expected this season too. The recent loss at Eden Gardens against KKR took PWI to bottom of the table, just above the Deccan Chargers. Out of the 12 matches played, only 4 matches have been in their favor. In IPL – 5, Dada’s Warriors have been outplayed by most of the teams.

Luck hasn’t prevailed on the Pune side for a long time. During the first leg of the league, Warriors were going great and winning matches in a row, but then came a stormy phase for the team, which hasn’t yet ended for them.

Statistically speaking, almost all the matches they have played so far (except 2), have gone to the ultimate over of the match. Their opponents have never been able to snatch an easy win against them. In 2 of their matches they fell short by a single run, giving a nail-biting finish to both their opponents, and the viewers.

PWI has lost 5 consecutive matches and the losing streak may not end if they do not come out with an appropriate and balanced combination of 11 players. As the saying goes – the roots must be strong enough to uphold a tree. To assure a comfortable win in cricket, you must get a good start and your opening pair must perform well. This is where PWI has failed on most instances. IPL for them is 12 matches old, but they are still experimenting with their opening pair and are yet not successful in finding decent opening batsmen.

Also 2 players who have completely failed to make mark in this year’s IPL, are Murali Kartik and Jesse Ryder. Ryder couldn’t perform well as an opening batsman consistently and neither did he bowl well. His bowling economy was always a disappointment for the team. Kartik being the lead spinner of the team, was expected to take wickets, but he has not been able to do so and his bowling economy is rising match after match. Also in the spinning department, Rahul Sharma is not being given enough chance to perform.

Foreign players too, don’t seem be worth what they were bought for. Although Michael Clarke is 3 games old, he couldn’t perform as an opener and is yet to prove his mettle this season. Dada, the Captain of the warriors hasn’t performed his best when needed.

Just 4 games to go before the playoffs, PWI needs to win all those games and at the same time, hope for a miracle to happen, to reach the top 4. Let’s hope the best for Dada and PWI fans.