IPL 2018: 5 positives that KXIP will draw from their campaign this year

The Indian Premier League is known for the intense cricketing battles and several exciting contests between the bat and ball. However an IPL as intense and as open as the 11th edition of the tournament, was far beyond one's rational imagination.

Only on the last day of the league stage was it decided that it would be Rajasthan Royals who would join Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata in the play-offs. Such was the nature of this year's IPLthat a number of games went down to the final over while a few were decided in the last ball.

One team that had a rather strange season was the Kings XI Punjab. It was a story of two halves of the tournament for them. In the first half, everything seemed to be going their way. The top order batsmen were in form and the bowlers were successful in their attempts to restrict the opposition. Since the team was winning, many flaws went unnoticed.

Punjab's fortune changed rather dramatically as they managed just a single win in the second half of the league stage. Their excellent run in the initial phase though, had ensured that Punjab were alive in the competition up until their last league encounter where they needed a massive win to fancy a chance at qualification.

However, Punjab lost that game against the Chennai Super Kings to draw curtains on their campaign this season.

Here are 5 big positives that Punjab will draw from their 2018 campaign.

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#5 R Ashwin- the captain

Ashwin led an IPL franchise for the first time this season

Being a first time captain of a side is never easy. However, the Tamil Nadu cricketer did a decent job marshaling his troops.

Although Ashwin faced a lot of criticism for some of his bold moves, (promoting himself up the order or sending Axar Patel ahead of somebody like a Yuvraj Singh, to say a few) overall he did a decent job keeping in mind the limitations of his side.

That his esteemed middle order (comprising the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Aaron Finch, Manoj Tiwari) was not firing was a big reason to worry as a skipper. Ashwin tried to play different combinations, giving a sufficiently long run to each of the players, in hope of better performances from his side.

Mayank got 11 games, Finch featured in 10 matches, Yuvraj played 8 games while Tiwary was tried on 5 occasions and yet the Punjab middle order failed to get a working combination together.

There was hardly anything that Ashwin could have done differently than probably trying out the untried players at this level. But Ashwin went for the experienced players, which was not tactically a bad choice.

On the field with his smart moves, Ashwin got the better of the opposition on quite a few occasions. Whether it was the challenge of handling Andrew Tye or Mujeeb Rehman or for that matter deciding when to introduce himself in the bowling attack, Ashwin was spot on.

His leadership skills will be a big plus for the Punjab brigade in the long run.

#4 Ankit Rajpoot

Rajpoot was impressive in patches

Ankit Rajpoot is a good prospect for the upcoming seasons. It is a fact that Rajpoot was not as consistent as he would have liked but when he gathered rhythm he looked a fine bowler. Rajpoot was the third highest wicket-taker for Kings XI Punjab with 11 wickets from 8 matches.

The pacer also got a fifer in the tournament, in a spell which saw him trouble the batsmen with his raw pace and accuracy. Some of Rajpoot's numbers are outstanding- his average of 20.27 and a strike rate of 14.27 puts him amidst the best in the league. Even though his economy is a little on the higher side at 8.52, Rajpoot has enormous potential and one can only expect him to work on that aspect of his game.

Pace though has always been a double-edged sword - one that gets you wickets and may also concede a few extra runs as the ball travels quickly off the bat. Considering this fact, Rjpoot had a good season with the Punjab boys.

The seamer is rated very highly as a bowler by Venkatesh Prasad and he believes that Rajpoot can definitely play for India someday.

#3 Mujeeb Rehman

Mujeeb choked the opposition during the middle overs

11 matches, 14 wickets and an economy rate of 6.99- the numbers go on to show how Mujeeb almost choked the opposition during the middle overs, forcing them to make an error.

The mystery spinner turned out to be a big asset for his side as he had a healthy knack of breaking partnerships, without giving any freebies. Because Mujeeb hardly gave anything away, the opponent batsmen were forced to go after other bowlers and in the process ended up giving away their wickets, playing a rash shot.

Born in 2001, Mujeeb was a tough challenge even for those who have grown up playing spin bowling in the subcontinent conditions.

Ashwin deserves a pat on his back for the way Mujeeb was used in various situations- depending upon the wicket and the opposition.

Mujeeb’s performance will give a lot of confidence to the Punjab brigade for the coming seasons.

#2 Andrew Tye

Tye won the Purple Cap for the season

The Kings XI Punjab played only 14 games as they were knocked out of the tournament from the league stage itself. Despite playing a few games less than the teams which made it to the final four, Tye managed to remain the highest wicket taker of the season.

Whenever Ashwin was desperately looking for a wicket, his search for a wicket-taking option would end at a Tye or Mujeeb. Tye picked up 24 wickets averaging just 18.66. Coming into this tournament as a T20 specialist bowler, Tye has done no harm to his reputation with this performance.

Over the course of the tournament, Tye developed a knack of delivering 3-4 wicket spells, a figure that would impress any captain. Tye picked up three 4-wicket hauls in the league and would be very pleased with his personal performance in the league.

The Aussie will definitely play a huge role in Punjab’s plan of an improved performance in IPL 2018.

#1 KL Rahul

Rahul was the lone warrior of a struggling Punjab batting order

In a batting line up that struggled to get going, KL Rahul was often the lone warrior fighting for his team. The fact that he managed to fight alone for the majority of the tournament with decent amount of success, considering that there was little or no support from the other end, speaks volume of the caliber of the player.

The Karnataka batsman was at his destructive best this season and played a lot more freely. With 659 runs, including the fastest half century in the IPL history, Rahul was the pillar of the Punjab batting line-up and the team’s performance revolved around him.

The Punjab think tank will hope that KL Rahul starts on a similar note next year and that it does not remain a one-man show anymore when the team regroups next season.