IPL 2020 – Season Review: Kings XI Punjab – So near yet so far

Kings XI Punjab came into the 2020 season with great expectations. They had started off well in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons but were unable to clinch the important moments in the latter halves, thus crashing out. They had rectified most of the problems they had faced, arrived with a fresh squad and with a change in leadership, seemed to be coming in without any past burden.

However, their narrow loss to Delhi Capitals in the very first game was the start of an extremely poor first half. They had only 1 win in the first 7 games. With nothing to lose, they came marching right back, winning 5 on the trot. Just when it seemed that they would manage to qualify for the playoffs, KXIP suffered two consecutive defeats due to which they crashed out once again, finishing 6^th, thus bringing a bitter-sweet campaign to an end. Let us discuss the positives and the struggles of KXIP’ season and what is the way ahead for them.

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The #Dream11 Gamechanger of the Season – @klrahul11 ?#SaddaPunjab #CaptainPunjab #IPL2020 #KXIP pic.twitter.com/sRxyT9PGAq

— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) November 10, 2020

Positives

The biggest positive for KXIP this season was definitely the form of their top 4, especially the super successful opening pair of K.L Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Rahul and Agarwal often gave scintillating starts to KXIP and in most matches, at least one batsman went on to get a big score. Chris Gayle, who played only in the second half, adapted well at the number 3 position, and the fact that he hit more than 20 sixes and even scored a 99 was proof enough that the Universe Boss still has a lot left in the tank. Nicholas Pooran was a revelation. He scored 353 runs this year at a SR of almost 170.

Another big strength for them this year was their leg-spin duo, Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi. While Ashwin has been playing high-level cricket for quite some years, this year he did exceedingly well, picking up 10 wickets in the 9 games he played. But Bishnoi was the real surprise. Just coming from U19 cricket, Bishnoi managed to pick up 12 wickets in 14 games, at an economy of just 7.37. The duo triggered KXIP’s comeback.

Struggles

Now coming to KXIP’s weaknesses –  Glenn Maxwell’s lack of form, and having very slim batting in the lower middle order was their biggest weakness. Maxwell had an absolutely terrible season. He managed to make just 108 runs in 13 games at an unbelievably low SR of just 102. Shockingly, he didn’t manage to hit a single six in the 106 balls he faced. All other lower middle-order batsmen like Jimmy Neesham, Krishnappa Gowtham and Sarfraz Khan couldn’t instil any kind of confidence in the management either.

Time to say goodbye to #IPL & Dubai. Not the season we hoped for but we will come back bigger,better & stronger?So many thrills, heart attacks,highs,lows & memorable moments. It’s been a shorter run than what we hoped for (1/2) pic.twitter.com/etnbBTU9x9

— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) November 3, 2020

KXIP also lacked good death bowling. They made the grave mistake of dropping their only established death bowler, Chris Jordan, after just a couple of poor games and suffered. Jordan proved his worth as he picked up 9 wickets in the 6 games he played in the second half, conceding 8.5 rpo as compared to 12.5 in the first 3 games he played. Arshdeep Singh did decently but was too inexperienced to hold his own every single game at the death. As they went in with just 5 bowlers in a lot of games, the lack of a good partner for Jordan really hurt them.

What Next?

All said and done, KXIP certainly has a squad capable of winning the IPL. They were just one win away from qualifying for the playoffs this year. Going forward, they need to take the big call of leaving out Maxwell and go for someone like Shakib Al Hasan or Mohammad Nabi who can add strength to their lower-middle order as well as guarantee overs every game.  Sheldon Cottrell turned out to be a poor buy as he struggled especially at the death. They can try and bring in an experienced Indian pacer in his place, who may not be a wicket-taker but at least is economical and can bowl at the death. We can expect KXIP to come roaring back next season.