It’s really interesting how this IPL 2019 has turned out. Apart from the two teams at the bottom, RCB and Rajasthan Royals, every other team has done well and is in contention for the play-offs.
Both Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad have 3 wins and 2 losses. There really isn’t much of a difference between them. They have had their moments in this completion, good and bad.
Kings XI Punjab’s worst moment came in the last match, when they gave up a winning position as Sarfaraz Khan and KL Rahul actually slowed down in the end overs and could hardly get anything away. It was a shambolic performance and although both players got 50+ scores in that game, they wouldn’t be happy for that. It looked like they were playing for personal milestones and had no interest in getting their team to win.
You can excuse Sarfaraz Khan as he is only a teen and still trying to establish himself, but what was KL Rahul doing? This is an experienced player, who has been a part of the Indian team for years, but he still seems so unsure about himself and lacks confidence.
Rahul has been given too many chances, and yet his career is going nowhere. Ashwin and the team management should talk to him and tell him exactly what’s wrong – This is a man who is too focused on himself and not on the team. He constantly over thinks and that is hurting him.
As for Sunrisers, the duo of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have been phenomenal at the top. Then they have the two Afghan spin bowlers – Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, who are indispensible. So how does Captain Kane Williamson get into the side when he comes back from his injury? He probably can’t – unless either Warner or Bairstow gets injured.
The Teams
Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Sarfaraz Khan, 5 David Miller, 6 Mandeep Singh, 7 Sam Curran, 8 R Ashwin (capt), 9 M Ashwin, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman/Hardus Viljoen/Andrew Tye
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Vijay Shankar, 4 Manish Pandey/Ricky Bhui, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar (capt), 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Siddarth Kaul
Prediction: Win for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
