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Daunting task for Knight Riders

— PHOTO: AFP

HEAD HUNTERS: Kings XI Punjab’s Yusuf Abdulla and Irfan Pathan have used the new ball to good effect.

Port Elizabeth: Stunned by a reviving Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab will look to get back to its winning ways when it challenges the bottom-placed Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday.

Kings XI, placed at the fourth spot (as on May 1) with three wins and three losses, will want to make amends against Knight Riders, whose only win came against the Yuvraj Singh-led side by virtue of Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected tie.

After facing rain god’s ire in its first two matches, Kings XI bounced back with a hat-trick of wins over Royal Challengers, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians but Royal Challengers stopped the King’s XI juggernaut, pipping it by 8 runs on Friday night.

Yuvraj displayed an all-round performance by recording the first hat-trick of this edition’s IPL and hitting a rollicking fifty but still could not save the match as RCB’s new skipper Anil Kumble stole the thunder by manoeuvring his men brilliantly in the crucial moments.

Good news

However, with Yuvraj returning to form, it is good news for Kings XI, which already has some matchwinners in Kumar Sangakkara and all-rounder Irfan Pathan.

The bowlers have also so far done the job well, with Yusuf Abdulla leading the charge with 13 wickets to don the Purple Cap (as on May 1).

Spinners Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar are also chipping in nicely and Irfan has invariable provided the early breakthrough with his swinging deliveries.

In contrast, nothing seems to have gone right for John Buchanan’s boys as they have lost five matches out of seven.

Knight Riders so far has looked like a house in disarray as neither its batting clicked nor its bowling seems to damage the opposition. It would need more than a miracle if it is to salvage any hope of making the semifinals.

Worries

While West Indian Chris Gayle has done bulk of the scoring, opening the innings with skipper Brendon McCullum, the Kiwi has been a total failure with the bat and now with Gayle leaving for national duty, Shah Rukh Khan’s team will have to look for a good replacement.

Even Sourav Ganguly, apart from a fighting 46 against Rajasthan Royals, has struggled with his batting, while Australian Brad Hodge has shown only some sparks and Laxmi Ratan Shukla has failed to consolidate on the starts.

Its bowling has been equally lacklustre with pacers Ishant Sharma and Ashok Dinda shining only in patches and spinners Ajanta Mendis and Murali Kartik not coming to their aid despite the surprisingly spinner-friendly South African tracks. — PTI

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