Unstoppable Kings XI Punjab create IPL record of 8 consecutive wins

Sandeep Sharma’s 3/15 crippled the RCB top order, getting Punjab their 5th consecutive win this season

Kings XI Punjab continued their unbeaten run in IPL 2014, when they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 5 wickets last night in Dubai. This was their 5th consecutive win this season, and 8th overall, the longest winning streak by any team in IPL history.

KXIP won their final 3 matches last season against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians, followed by their unbeaten streak of 5 matches in UAE this year.

They broke the record of 7 unbeaten matches in row, held by Royal Challengers Bangalore (in 2011) and Chennai Super Kings (in 2013). Both the teams achieved the feat in a single season, whereas Kings XI Punjab’s record spans over 2 seasons.

In 2011, it was Kings XI Punjab who broke RCB’s streak with a massive 111-run win in Dharmsalsa, whereas Mumbai Indians were the party spoilers for CSK in 2013, beating them by 60 runs in 2013 in Mumbai.

KXIP have hit a rich vein of form this season, starting the season with high octane wins in the first 3 matches with the help of some maverick batting from new recruit Glenn Maxwell and retained star David Miller.

When their batting stuttered, their bowling has come to the fore in last 2 matches, with the 20-year-old medium pacer from Punjab, Sandeep Sharma bamboozling the batsmen with some serious swing on offer. Against KKR and RCB, Sandeep has taken a total of 6 wickets, picking 3 wickets and Man of the Match award in both fixtures.

With 300 runs to his name, Maxwell still has a healthy lead in the table despite failures in the last 2 matches.

With Kings XI ending the UAE leg on an unbeaten high, and only a couple of wins away from sealing the knockout berth, a return to Mohali will not be seen by their pacers, including Mitchell Johnson, as a drawback. However, they have to face a couple of tough fixtures in Mumbai and Cuttack before they can enjoy their home support.

They play their first fixture in IPL’s Indian leg against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on May 3.