IPL 10, Match 4, KXIP v RPS: Kings XI Punjab Player Ratings

After the auction, there were two possibilities for the Kings XI Punjab- nothing would change for them, or everything will change. The start of the season for KXIP indicates that the latter might well be on the cards. Last year, Maxwell did not have the best of seasons, and there were doubts about his decline as one of the best T20 batsmen that exist. But look at how the tables have turned, he’s now captain and he has led his side from the front in the very first match.

After winning the toss, Maxwell decided to bowl first and easy breakthroughs came at regular intervals. They did well to restrict Rising Pune Supergiant to 163/6. The selection of both teams had some surprises in the form of Dan Christian instead of Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla instead of Eoin Morgan. There were also two young talents that got a chance in the game, T Natarajan and Rahul Chahar.

Hashim Amla- 4/10

It was a dilly dally performance from him today because, after a few early hits, he got slow and was mistiming shots. In the first few overs when Manan Vohra was playing alongside, Amla was looking good too. As Manan Vohra departed, even Amla did not look the same. He was struggling to get the runs and he paid the penalty trying to up the ante.

With 28 off 27 balls, he was slow and consumed a lot of balls. Clearly not a good day for him. One point for decent fielding effort.

Manan Vohra- 3.5/10

It’s a delight to see the plethora of shots he plays, sadly, he doesn’t value his wicket much. It was the same today, he started well, even took on Dinda initially, but gave his wicket away to him. He failed to middle it and Tiwary took a good catch.

He could have done well for the KXIP opening partnership had he gone beyond the 14 off 9, but since he failed to capitalize. Credit to him for taking Smith’s catch.

Wriddhiman Saha- 3.5/10

The same runs, balls and strike rate as Manan Vohra, but it looked like a positive sign when Saha was at it. The moment it looked like Saha was about to dominate, he failed to defend a googly by Tahir. He did not pick the wrong ‘un and was also slow in using the bat.

The keeping was decent, so credit to him for that.

Axar Patel- 5/10

Quite a move to send him up the order. It gave Maxwell and Miller enough time to enter the situation when it was best suited for them. While at it, Axar himself looked slightly out of sorts. With only 1 four and 1 six, he did not do well with the clean hitting that his usual job is. Infact, the shot he was dismissed on was a suicidal one as they had lost Amla a couple of balls earlier. The promotion didn’t really yield the desired results.

He was good with ball with 27 runs conceded and 1 wicket taken. More so, because he was economical and dismissed well-set Stokes who had already scored his fifty.

Glenn Maxwell- 8.5/10

A great first attempt at captaincy, with an even better performance with the bat. He has now joined the club of “leading from the front.” He marked his arrival in this year’s IPL with a bang as he went on to score 44 off 20. He took on Tahir and Stokes easily and was dominating in its truest sense. He kept with the asking run rate and decreased the deficit during the slog overs.

His bowling changes and field placements were decent, so points for that as well. The new skipper a.k.a  the Big Show did put up a spectacular show along with the responsibility he has. 44 off 20 from him and 30 off 27 from Miller ensured KXIP tracked down 164 in 19 overs.

David Miller- 7/10

Killer Miller brings immense strength down the order, and when he combines with Maxwell, things for KXIP get better. Though it wasn’t as ‘deadly’ as his other innings usually are, cautious batting on his end was necessary while the partnership strengthened. Because Maxwell was firing from one end, it wasn’t necessarily required from Miller to hit big.

To not throw his wicket away, and to keep the runs flowing, playing according to the situation was vital, so that’s what he did.

Marcus Stoinis- 4/10

He was slightly on the uneconomical side, as he conceded 28 runs in the 3 overs with the lone wicket of Steve Smith. But, it was extremely important to dismiss him especially after the kind of form he is in and his performance in the last match.

Apart from that, there were not many occasions that you could remember him for on the field apart from the catch he dismissed  Rahane on, which came despite being against the sun.

Swapnil Singh- 3.5/10

In the two overs he bowled, he conceded 14 runs but took the wicket of MS Dhoni, so that holds value. It was a soft dismissal. But Swapnil was responsible for it. Apart from that, not many contributions to remember for today.

Mohit Sharma- 2/10

Most expensive among the lot. Wicket-less. And, unthreatening. There’s not much to ponder about here.

Sandeep Sharma- 5/10

Sandy is their most trusted and most reliable bowler. He hardly fails to deliver. First, a ferocious inswinger sent Mayank Agarwal back to pavilion on a duck. Then, he took Dan Christian with a Yorker. The timing was bang on, though 33 runs were conceded in his 4 overs, he was the most impressive among the lot.

T Natarajan- 4/10

A decent debut for the Southern Fizz, as he went on to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane in the second ball he bowled. It was a great catch by Stoinis too, but credit to Natarajan for bowling the accurate length. He did let go off a catch that was ideally meant for him, so that’s where he needs to work on. But since this is his first match, he will most definitely learn.