IPL 2020: 3 Mistakes committed by losing team in KXIP vs MI game

KXIP vs MI turned out to be a one-sided affair. The defending champions were right on top and they dominated Punjab side which is already struggling with the limited resources it has. Rohit Sharma came up with the particular plan he spoke about after they won their first game of the tournament against Kolkata Knight Riders. The skipper played with extreme care and made sure he is present for the most parts of the innings.

KL Rahul’s captaincy looked comparatively unimpressive as his plan to rotate his bowlers failed against Mumbai. Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya took over from Rohit and played some glorious shots to put KXIP skipper under pressure and their bowling looked in turmoil in the death overs. There are numerous things which KXIP should learn from their third defeat of the tournament and find there a way to play better in the upcoming games.

Here are three mistakes committed by KXIP in match 13, MI vs KXIP:-

1. Playing without a genuine fifth bowler

KXIP lost their last game against Rajasthan Royals after Rahul Tewatia played one of the most popular innings of IPL 2020 by demolishing KXIP bowlers in the death. Their bowlers lacked a plan and it looked like they needed an extra bowler. With four genuine bowlers, KXIP play Jimmy Neesham and Glenn Maxwell as their all-rounders but none of them is reliable and they can’t be trusted to bowl against the likes of Pollard and Pandya at the death. Punjab needed the fifth bowler but with no other option, Rahul went with Neesham to bowl four overs and he spent whopping 52 in those.

2. Not keeping Sheldon Cottrell’s overs for the death

Sheldon Cottrell was bought by KXIP as their death overs specialist. However, his performance hasn’t been as good as expected. He has been quite expensive in the death and his over with five sixes against Tewatia in the last game was one of the biggest reasons for KXIP’s defeat. Kings XI Punjab is facing a problem of limited resources as Chris Jordan, another well-known death bowler has been tried and he failed as well.

However, Cottrell performed brilliantly in this game with the new ball and removed dangerous Quinton De Kock early on. With Mumbai’s skipper, Rohit being there during the middle overs, KL Rahul bowled Cottrell to pick Rohit’s wicket and that turned out to be a hazardous move. With no overs left of his death overs specialist, Rahul had to bowl his all-rounders in the death which led to Mumbai making 89 runs in the last five overs.

3. Is it time to replace Glenn Maxwell with Chris Gayle?

Glenn Maxwell was bought in the auction for a whopping 10.75 crores. He was expected to solve KXIP’s finishing problems which they faced during IPL 2019. However, he has been in dismal form in this season and with the limit to play only four overseas players, he has been a burden on the side.

In KXIP vs MI as well, he scored only 11 runs while facing 18 vital deliveries. With a player like Chris Gayle waiting in the wings, KL Rahul can consider coming down the order himself and adjust Gayle at the top. If it would have been done in this game, chasing 192 could have been possible.