IPL 2019: I Am Sure Kings XI Punjab Will Go Extra-Mile To Finish Group Stage Strongly – Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Apr 19, 2019 at 4:56 PM
Kings XI Punjab is one of those franchises, who are waiting to stick their name on the Indian Premier League trophy from the past 11 years. They have been close on a couple of occasions but all they managed was to reach the finals of the tournament, which is their highest so far in the tournament. Meanwhile, Krishnamachari Srikkanth feels they can go for a win in this edition.
Speaking of the same, the former Indian cricketer in his column to Times of India quoted that the team had done brilliant enough despite having limited resources in their side. He hailed the captaincy of Ashwin for picking those 10 points from 9 games.
To be honest, the Punjab batting has heavily relied on KL Rahul and Chris Gayle. But the likes of Mayank Agarwal, David Miller and Sarfaraz Khan came to the party when it mattered the most. He believes that was the secret behind their success so far in the tournament.
“If everything went to script, it wouldn’t be the IPL. What I have understood over the years is that team strength and star players necessarily don’t turn to success. Look at the case of Kings XI Punjab. They have a brittle middle order and take R Ashwin away from the attack and that’s a feeble line-up, too,” Srikkanth wrote.
”Despite their limited resources and their batting being over-reliant on KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, Kings XI have punched well above their weight. If I was their captain, I would gladly take the five wins out of nine games. Mayank Agarwal and David Miller have shown form but must kick on to score big.”
The loss against RCB would’ve hurt them – Krishnamachari Srikkanth
So far, Kings XI Punjab managed to win 5 games out of their 9 games to reach 4th in the points table. This was the exact scenario for them in the previous edition of the tournament as well. However, after that, they found themselves on the wrong side of things, something, which they don’t want this year.
“Ashwin will only be hoping all the pieces that have fallen together, helps him win three more games out of their remaining five. I am stressing the obvious, but a loss to RCB will not only hurt Kings XI in the points table but also their confidence. This is the point where things went haywire for them last season and I am sure they will go their extra mile to finish the league stage strongly,” Srikkanth opined.
Well, it would be interesting to see how R Ashwin leads the team in the remaining part of the Indian Premier League. So far, they have been brilliant in pulling out victories in thrillers. All they hope is three more wins in the tournament to reach playoffs.