Mohali: Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad will seek a win to provide partial relief to their troubled Indian Premier League (IPL) campaigns during their face-off in a league match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Monday.
Punjab’s 97-run capitulation against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai on Saturday condemned them to the embarrassing position at the foot of the standings with just four points from six matches.
Their frailties in bowling were mercilessly exposed by the formidable CSK batting as their battery of wicket-takers were carted to all corners of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
Their biggest hope, Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson, also bore the brunt of hitting.
Their batting, which is undoubtedly their strength, was supposed to have compensated for their deficiencies in bowling.
But, despite the presence of heavyweights Virender Sehwag, David Miller, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and George Bailey, they have consistently struggled to forge partnerships that form the foundation of good totals.
Poor form forced Maxwell’s exclusion from Saturday’s team, but that provided no solution to their woes.
They can, however, draw comfort from the position of their Monday’s opponents, who are themselves not in the pink of health.
Hyderabad are better placed in the points table, but only via a superior run-rate — having won just twice in six matches like Punjab.
It is apparent their batting is top heavy, relying heavily on openers David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan.
But scratching beneath the surface reveals the real scenario.
The good work of the openers has been nullified by a malfunctioning middle-order. Their latter-order batsmen have to rise to the occasion for the team to perform as a unit.
Their bowling is, similarly, dependent on the South Africa-New Zealand pace duo of Dale Steyn and Trent Boult.
