CHENNAI: This will be a week in which Kings XI Punjab will be hoping to be at their best, as they will be playing back-to-back matches.
They have three lined up in the next six days (two home and one away), starting with Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali on Monday.
With three wins in their first five matches, R Ashwin & Co have had a decent start to their campaign. But there is an area of concern: their pace department.
Last season, Punjab were strong contenders for the playoffs, winning five of their first six matches. But things did not fall into place after, as they lost seven of their last eight. That fact won’t be lost on them as they grapple with this issue. In a team with spinners like Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Ashwin, pacer Andrew Tye shone bright in 2018, taking the Purple Cap with 24 wickets. But the Australian has hardly looked in control, having an economy of 9.58 after three matches. Having come in after a good Big Bash League stint (17 wickets in 14), much was expected from him.
Not just Tye, but all their seamers have gone for nearly nine and above. Mohammed Shami has been erratic. Barring their match against Delhi Capitals — he took 2/27 — the India pacer was expensive in the other four. Ankit Rajpoot turned out only once.
That apart, the Punjab skipper also said that they are yet to find their right combination, with the team sticking to a five-bowler strategy due to Chris Gayle and David Miller doing well and locking two foreign slots.
After releasing Barinder Sran and Mohit Sharma this year, their Indian pace options are limited (Arshdeep Singh and Darshan Nalkande have only three T20s between them). With Mujeeb higher in the pecking order — especially on spinning tracks — the toss-up for the one remaining slot is between Tye, Sam Curran and Hardus Viljoen.
Curran is in the limelight — courtesy a hat-trick against Delhi — and a handy batsman. The tall Viljoen (four wickets in four matches) is capable of bowling quick and has mean bouncers.
But since Punjab have relied more on the knuckle-ball specialist, he might not be the front-runner.
Even Ashwin acknowledged this issue. “We are lacking the flexibility to get the right combination in terms of having a sixth bowler. Chris (Gayle) and (David) Miller are playing well. So it is harsh to drop someone just for the sake of the combination.”
Irrespective, the off-spinner feels that pacers in general have a tough life in the tournament. “If you look at our pacers, they bowl in the powerplay and at the death. That’s a thankless job,” said Ashwin after their loss against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday. “They won us a game against Delhi. They came back very strongly against Rajasthan. If you look at the final analysis, see how they go, and make a call on that, it’s not just about figures. It’s about how they bowl; how they stick to our plans.
“We have had some very good plans and preparation. We missed the mark by very fine margin (against Chennai). We are doing well as a team because we have individuals doing well in every game. It’s very healthy going into the competition.”