So far so good for Kings XI http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 in the Indian Premier League: IPL-4 News
The ICC World Cup 2011 may be over, but it seems that cricket has just started in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. The fourth edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League kicked off soon after the Men in Blue were crowned the world champions and since then, the fans have witnessed
some entertaining T20 cricket. The shortest version of the game is always fun to watch and it has been a treat for the Indian fans until now.
One of the better performing teams in this year’s IPL has been the Kings XI Punjab. The team didn’t get off to an ideal start to the season, losing the first match against the Pune Warriors (PWI). However, they bounced back strongly in their next couple
of matches, winning against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Deccan Chargers (DC). They will next face the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals (RR), at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on Thursday 21 April.
The best result for KXIP in IPL has been a semi-final finish in the inaugural season of the cash-rich tournament. However, the team was unable to live up to the expectations of their fans in the next two editions.
The leadership of the team has been handed over to former Australian wicket-keeper batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918 this time around. The veteran cricketer was the skipper of DC in the previous editions of the tournament and led his team to a title victory in the
second season of IPL.
Gilchrist was expected to repeat the same performance, but this time for a different outfit. His team was defeated in the first match, as the batting failed miserably. The South African all-rounder, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ryan-McLaren-c87323, was the only player to make an impression
in the match, scoring an unbeaten 51 off 43 balls. His effort went in vain though, as the team was unable to defend 112 against the Yuvraj Singh led squad.
KXIP was under immense pressure, as their next match was against the defending champions CSK. The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 led side scored a massive total of 188 runs after they were put into bat by Gilchrist.
Things looked grim for Punjab, but a special effort from opening batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Paul-Valthaty-c2170 guided the team to an easy victory in the end. The flamboyant batsman scored an unbeaten 120 runs off just 63 balls with the help of 19 fours and two sixes. His effort
stunned the strong opposition, as the target was chased with five more balls to spare.
Valthaty’s innings gave a lot of confidence to the team and they carried that into the next game against DC. Gilchrist and his men were yet again given a big target of 166 to chase, but the team reached it with effortless ease.
The opening partnership between KXIP’s captain and Valthaty was worth 136 runs in just 14 overs, which took the game away from Kumar Sangakkara and his men. The pair scored 61 and 75 runs in the innings, making things easier for their middle-order batsmen.
Although things have looked quite good for the Punjab's team, they need to sort out a few things before their next game. The middle-order of the team has appeared to be vulnerable and if a couple of early wickets fall in the innings, there will be immense
pressure on the team.
Apart from the batting, the team will need to emphasis on their bowling department as well. KXIP has allowed their oppositions in all three matches to score runs quickly and if the trend continues, things will become difficult for them.
However, the winning momentum would have brought a lot of confidence in the team, which will make things easier for them in the upcoming matches.
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