The nail-biting second Super Over win against defending champions Mumbai Indians was certainly a morale-lifter but the inconsistent Kings XI Punjab have another tough battle at hand when they take on table-toppers Delhi Capitals in an IPL match in Dubai, UAE on Tuesday.
The match went into a Super Over last time the two teams met and more than Delhi, KXIP will be hoping that it doesn’t come to that again.
Having lost two tight games they should have won at the start of the season, KXIP managed to get on the right side of the results in the last couple of games, although it was too close for comfort by their own admission.
Needing seven off the last two overs with nine wickets in hand, they should have wrapped the game against RCB much before the last ball and even in the IPL’s first double Super Over against Mumbai Indians on Sunday night, the KL Rahul-led side could have closed it out in regulation time.
KXIP's results in IPL so far
Match | Day/Date/Time | Venue | Result | Total points for season |
---|---|---|---|---|
DC vs KXIP | 20 Sep, Sun (1930) | Dubai | KXIP lost in Super Over | 0 |
KXIP vs RCB | 24 Sep, Thu (1930) | Dubai | KXIP won by 97 runs | 2 |
RR vs KXIP | 27 Sep, Sun (1930) | Sharjah | KXIP lost by 4 wickets | 2 |
KXIP vs MI | 1 Oct, Thu (1930) | Abu Dhabi | KXIP lost by 48 runs | 2 |
KXIP vs CSK | 4 Oct, Sun (1930) | Dubai | KXIP lost by 10 wickets | 2 |
SRH vs KXIP | 8 Oct, Thu (1930) | Dubai | KXIP lost by 69 runs | 2 |
KXIP vs KKR | 10 Oct, Sat (1530) | Abu Dhabi | KXIP lost by 2 runs | 2 |
RCB vs KXIP | 15 Oct, Thu (1930) | Sharjah | KXIP won by 8 wickets | 4 |
MI vs KXIP | 18 Oct, Sun (1930) | Dubai | KXIP won the Super Over | 6 |
DC's results in IPL so far
Match | Day/Date/Time | Venue | Result | Total points |
---|---|---|---|---|
DC vs KXIP | 20 Sep, Sun (1930) | Dubai | DC won Super Over after match was tied | 2 |
CSK vs DC | 25 Sep, Fri (1930) | Dubai | DC won by 44 runs | 4 |
DC vs SRH | 29 Sep, Tue (1930) | Abu Dhabi | DC lost by 15 runs | 4 |
DC vs KKR | 3 Oct, Sat (1930) | Sharjah | DC won by 18 runs | 6 |
RCB vs DC | 5 Oct, Mon (1930) | Dubai | DC won by 59 runs | 8 |
RR vs DC | 9 Oct, Fri (1930) | Sharjah | DC won by 46 runs | 10 |
MI vs DC | 11 Oct, Sun (1930) | Abu Dhabi | DC lost by 5 wickets | 10 |
DC vs RR | 14 Oct, Wed (1930) | Dubai | DC won by 13 runs | 12 |
DC vs CSK | 17 Oct, Sat (1930) | Sharjah | DC won by 5 wickets | 14 |
Death bowling worries for Kings
Death bowing and the form of star player Glenn Maxwell in a shaky middle-order remain a concern for a team that needs to win its remaining five games to make the playoffs.
The fact that KXIP have struggled this season despite having tournament’s top two run-getters in openers Rahul (525) and Mayank Agarwal (393) best sums up their erratic run.
On a positive note, the successful return of Chris Gayle has reduced the burden on the shoulders of the star openers, especially allowing Rahul to play more freely.
Nicholas Pooran has shown his lethalness time and again but is yet to play a match-winning knock and the pressure is increasing on Maxwell the batsman, who is proving to be more useful as a spinner operating in the powerplay.
However, the team is likely to stick to him in the game against Delhi Capitals.
Team to beat
Delhi are clearly the team to beat in the tournament and have gained in confidence with a close win against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday night.
While Prithvi Shaw needs to be back among the runs after a couple of ducks, his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan elevating his game bodes well for the team that has won seven out of the nine matches it has played.
Axar Patel has shown his utility not just with the ball but also with the bat. His three sixes off Ravindra Jadeja helped Delhi get over the line in the final over finish against CSK.
With an envious bowling line-up, Delhi have shown they can defend even below-par totals. Playing in the absence of an injured Rishabh Pant, time is running out for Ajinkya Rahane to make an impact.
DC v KXIP H2H
Matches | Delhi wins | Punjab wins | Tied | |
---|---|---|---|---|
DC v KXIP | 24 | 11 | 14 | 0 |
Squads
KXIP squad
Batsmen | Bowlers | All-rounders | Wicketkeepers |
---|---|---|---|
Chris Gayle | Mohammed Shami | K Gowtham | KL Rahul |
Mayank Agarwal | Mujeeb ur Rahman | Glenn Maxwell | Nicholas Pooran |
Karun Nair | Arshdeep Singh | Deepak Hooda | Prabhsimran Singh |
Sarfaraz Khan | Hardus Viljoen | James Neesham | |
Mandeep Singh | M Ashwin | Chris Jordan | |
J Suchith | Tajinder Singh | ||
Harpreet Brar | |||
Darshan Nalkande | |||
Sheldon Cottrell | |||
Ravi Bishnoi | |||
Ishan Porel |
DC squad
Batsmen | Bowlers | All-rounders | Wicketkeepers |
---|---|---|---|
Shreyas Iyer | Ishant Sharma | Axar Patel | Rishabh Pant |
Prithvi Shaw | Amit Mishra | Harshal Patel | Alex Carey |
Shikhar Dhawan | Avesh Khan | R Ashwin | |
Ajinkya Rahane | Sandeep Lamichhane | Lalit Yadav | |
Shimron Hetmyer | Kagiso Rabada | Marcus Stoinis | |
Keemo Paul | Daniel Sams | ||
Mohit Sharma | |||
Tushar Deshpande | |||
Anrich Nortje |