Kings XI Punjab sparked their chase of an elusive qualifying berth in fine fashion against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday and now go into their penultimate home game, against the Delhi Daredevils at the HPCA Stadium here on Thursday looking to make the most of that opportunity.
Nothing is guaranteed at this closing stage of the league as a win for either RCB or Sunrisers Hyderabad can spike Punjab’s hopes, but with 12 points, Kings XI will still feel they in contention for the fourth berth in the playoffs. It is however, a mighty task on net run rate alone, leave aside the business of winning two more matches.
With the two southern sides stuck on 16 points, it opens the door for Kings XI to making the playoffs for the first time since 2008 under Yuvraj Singh’s captaincy.
And fittingly, it was their captain’s display in Bengaluru on Tuesday that gave Punjab a glimmer of hope. Adam Gilchrist has endured a horrid IPL-6, the rust of his year-long break clearly showing in the early matches. In the final two games at Mohali, however, there were signs that the explosive batsman the world knows so well was finally finding his range, which was confirmed as he led from the front.
Ending their chase at a bone-rattling 9.98 runs to the over, Gilly tore into the wayward RCB attack at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as only he can, and the Kings will go into Thursday’s game here knowing their captain has finally rediscovered his appetite for the big runs. For a team dependent on sporadic batting contributions so far, this is good news and the think-tank will be hoping desperately that their leader will continue to mine this vein of form in these last two matches. Veteran Azhar Mahmood too played a vital role in the Bengaluru triumph, more good news for coach Darren Lehmann who has often been at his wit’s end to find consistency from his men during the league stage as the Kings XI have promised more often than they have delivered.
Shaun Marsh, David Miller and David Hussey are all capable batsmen, and they will have to be at their best to make the most of this window of opportunity created in Bengaluru 24 hours ago.
More than anything else, Kings XI will need to get their team combination right for these matches. The Daredevils look a spent force but could still play spoiler for they have the batting guns to sink any opponents on a good day.
It will be equally important for the hosts to find consistency, for if they do get past Delhi, mighty Mumbai will still be lying in wait come Saturday.
League toppers last year, the Daredevils are a pale shadow of themselves and the listlessness of their recent displays suggests that they are waiting for an end to their misery, but a team can only discount a batting lineup that includes Virender Sehwag, Mahela Jayawardene and David Warner at their own risk.