IPL Carnival: Special Trailer : Will KL Rahul help KXIP win the IPL title?
- IndiaGlitz, [Tuesday,September 15 2020] Sports News
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), one of the most well-balanced teams in IPL, has always flattered to deceive; despite its potential, it has not performed admirably. Let's look into the team’s past record and present chances.
KXIP’s legion of fans hoping that the team would turn the tide around in its favour by winning the tourney this year.
Worst percentage
KXIP had lost more matches than it had won in the 12-year long IPL history. Despite its many defeats, the team has managed to keep its fan-base intact. KXIP possesses the worst percentage when it comes to advancing to the play-off stage: it has qualified for play-offs just twice (2008 & 2014) in the past. Only Delhi Capitals (DC) along has more number of terrible defeats than KXIP.
11 captains in 12 years!
Frequent change of captains has hardly helped: KXIP has had 11 captains in 12 years but fared well only under former Indian batter Yuvraj Singh. The team has been served by the likes of Virender Sehwag, Glen Maxwell, David Miller, K.L. Rahul, etc. KXIP players possess the record of hitting the second-most number of tons (11) in IPL history; it has also captured hat-trick of wickets the most number of times (4) than any other team.
Yuvraj netted two hat-tricks in 2009 against RCB and Deccan Chargers. Akshar Patel (2016; GL) and Sam Karan (2019; DC) too achieved this. Ironically enough, KXIP batters had been the victims (most times) when three other teams took hat-tricks!
Saha's ton in vain
Wriddhiman Saha became the first finalist to score a ton (2014 finals) but it went in vain as KXIP lost to KKR. Further, KXIP has recorded the most defeats against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) which enjoys a 71.43% of success rate against KXIP.
Will Rahul & Co. deliver?
Man-in-form K.L. Rahul (who is the captain now), Chris Gayle, Glen Maxwell, Nocholas Pooran along with new entries like Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Jordan and Mujeebur Rehman have bolstered KXIP's stakes in 2020. Young Ravi Bishnoi holds a lot of promise and would hopefully deliver accordingly!
It's time for KXIP to learn from its past mistakes and take to the field with renewed vigour to win the coveted title!
KXIP Matches