Kings XI Punjab on the rise; time for Bangalore to take tough decisions

Kings XI Punjab’s thrilling victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore has spiced up the 2012 Indian Premier League (IPL) points table - probably one of the most open in recent memory. With the win, Punjab have now moved into fourth place, ahead of celebrated units such as Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

 

By Nishad Pai Vaidya

 

Kings XI Punjab’s thrilling victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore has spiced up the 2012 Indian Premier League (IPL) points table – probably one of the most open in recent memory. With the win, Punjab have now moved into fourth place, ahead of celebrated units such as Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. For a team that had to face hurdles such as defeats early in the tournament  and the injury to a brilliant captain, Punjab have done remarkably well to resurrect their campaign and be counted amongst the contenders for the play-offs.

 

David Hussey’s inspirational captaincy sparks team work

 

A lot of the credit for Punjab’s revival has to go to their stand-in captain David Hussey. When he took over, Punjab had won only two out of their five games and he had to fill into the big shoes of Adam Gilchrist – something that would have been a huge challenge. However, Hussey has picked up the team and moulded them into an aggressive unit. They look charged up on the field and have fielded brilliantly – an indication that the confidence levels are on the rise. Interestingly, they have beaten Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore in their own den.

 

The added responsibility hasn’t affect Hussey’s batting; in fact he has played even better after accepting the captaincy. In five games as captain, he has three scores over forty which includes a scintillating 68 not out against Mumbai Indians. On the field, he has been a proactive as he tries to make things happen rather than wait them.

 

A look at the records of the Punjab batsmen shows that they aren’t overly reliant on any particular batsman. The averages reflect that most of the batsmen have made vital contributions and it isn’t a Shaun Marsh or a Hussey who have to take all the responsibility. Youngsters such as Mandeep Singh and Nitin Saini have been very impressive. Although their strike-rates aren’t the highest, they are gradually picking up pace with each passing game. Saini has also done a clean job behind the stumps in the absence of Gilchrist and done well with the bat. The team management may be tempted to retain him as a batsman once Gilchrist returns.

 

One of the biggest factors in Punjab’s surge is the addition of Azhar Mahmood. The visa conundrum is a thing of the past and he is capitalising on every opportunity that comes his way. Due to his inclusion, Punjab have been able to strike the right balance as here is a player who can bowl economically and bat aggressively. He is scoring at a remarkable strike-rate of 170.27. Furthermore, his bowling has been accurate and smart – a good mixture of slower deliveries and the conventional ones.

 

Piyush Chawla has bowled very well, the expensive over against Mumbai aside being an exception. In 10 games, he has 12 wickets at a good average of 20.66. More importantly, his economy rate is 6.70, despite the isolated incidents such as the hammering by Gayle and the Mumbai batsmen.

 

Parwinder Awana is the find of the season for them as he seems to be a good fast bowling prospect. His pace has been good and he has been hitting the right channels. The only problem is his economy rate, which is 8.16.

 

With Ryan Harris coming in, Punjab look a good bowling unit. However, Praveen Kumar has struggled to pick wickets as he has scalped just three in ten games. But his stunning bowling spell of 4-0-8-0 against Bangalore is encouraging for Kings XI.

 

Bangalore’s time to take tough decisions

 

“RCB’s loss to KX11 exposes the chinks in our armour. I guess the team management needs to change their way of selection thinking” – Vijay Mallya on Twitter following the RCB-KXIP game.

 

Vijay Mallya couldn’t have been more precise in his assessment of his team’s performance. While they seem to have the right mix of bowlers and batsmen, the results would suggest that Bangalore are struggling to find a settled combination. The main problem arises due to their vast pool of foreign players – with most players meriting selection by virtue of quality. The limit of four overseas players in the eleven has meant that players of the quality of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Muttiah Muralitharan haven’t got a long run in the side. A T20 star like Dirk Nannes is yet to play a game this season.

 

Most of Bangalore’s runs have come from Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. Some of the other batsmen have contributed, but haven’t matched the consistency of the two. However, they still manage to put the runs on the board and the real Achilles heel is the inconsistent bowling.

 

Bangalore’s main bowlers, Zaheer Khan, KP Appanna, Harshal Patel and R Vinay Kumar are all conceding runs at a rate of over seven and a half an over. Zaheer, being the senior pro is bowling too many bad deliveries, which is costing them dearly. Vinay Kumar, too, is struggling and these are worrying signs considering the fact that they are the two Indian bowlers in the team.

 

The scenario doesn’t get any better with the captain Daniel Vettori failing to pick wickets on a consistent basis. The impressive economy rate aside, Vettori has picked only five wickets in nine games – something that one wouldn’t expect from a bowler of his calibre particularly when other lesser known left arm spinners have done well during this IPL.

 

It is time for Bangalore to take a few tough decisions. Instead of shuffling Dilshan and McDonald, it would make more sense to play either Muralitharan or Nannes in their place. If the situation arises, Vettori himself may have to consider his place – much like Kumar Sangakkara. This move would make sense if they have to play both Nannes and Muralitharan to strengthen the bowling. In any case, Bangalore have to play anyone of the two as their bowling lacks the zing to trouble the batsmen.

 

The question is: Will Bangalore be brave enough to make the tough calls?

 

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a club-level cricketer with an analytic mind and a sharp eye. It was this sharpness which spotted a wrong replay in IPL4 resulting in Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal. Some of his analytical pieces have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. Nishad can also be followed on Twitter)

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