IPL 2018: 4 reasons why Kings XI Punjab might not make it to the playoffs

The Indian Premier League has become the most successful league not only because of the money but because of the quality of games on display. The league stages are like a marathon and there is no place for complacency before qualifying for the next stage.

While a team like Mumbai Indians, who were languishing at the bottom of the table at halfway stage, are making a comeback, the Kings who were at the top of the table are slowly starting to show a downward trend.

Kings XI Punjab had a great start to their IPL season winning five out of the first six matches, but things haven't been the same for them since then. In spite of the start, they have teed off in the last five matches as they could manage to win only once.

Here are the four reasons why KXIP might not make it to the playoffs:

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#1 Lack of momentum

After winning five of the first six matches, KXIP has registered only one win in last five matches. After these losses, other teams are catching up with KXIP and they are being helped by the slight dip in the net run rate of the Punjab-based franchise.

The thing about the losses is that only one loss was against the table toppers, three other losses were against teams who were behind them on the points table. The losses have definitely put a dent in the team's confidence and the Kings have a tough challenge ahead as the teams they will be facing are all in the race for playoffs.

#2 Over-dependency on KL-Gayle

Gayle hasn't been at his best in the last few matches

KL Rahul has been in ominous form and has scored 537 runs in 11 matches with an average of 59.66. As the tournament has progressed, Rahul has been batting more responsibly than before.

The same was on display in both the matches against Rajasthan Royals as he scored 84* and 95* in the two matches. His strike rate,162.72, in the tournament has been tremendous in spite of him playing responsible innings.

Gayle on the other entered the tournament with a bang but has been silent for the last two matches. Even though Gayle hasn't featured in three matches, the percentage of runs contributed by Gayle and Rahul is 48.65%.

KXIP have struggled in the last five matches as Gayle scored only 103 runs and they would not have even registered the one win if not Rahul's sublime innings. This little struggle shows how dependent they are on their openers and if any team manages to get Gayle and Rahul through then they are almost half-way through.

#3 Middle-order failures

The middle-order batsmen have fallen short of good performances

Apart from Rahul and Gayle, only three KXIP players have scored more than 100 runs, which includes the captain, Ravichandran Ashwin. Of the ten fifty-plus scores made by Kings XI Punjab, the only batsmen other than the openers to get it is Karun Nair, who made 50 in KXIP's first match against DD.

But Nair hasn't performed much since then as he scored only 196 runs in the remaining 10 games. Mayank Agarwal who had a phenomenal domestic season could not bring his form into IPL as he managed only 118 runs in 10 innings.

The middle order(4-5-6), in total, has made less than 30% of the runs for their team, the lowest percentage in this IPL. If the middle order doesn't perform in the upcoming games, KXIP might have to end their IPL with only three more games.

#4 Ineffectiveness of Indian pacers

Due to the ineffectiveness of Indian pacers, KXIP are overdependent on AJ Tye in the pace department

The Kings XI Punjab have been changing their Indian pace bowling unit on a regular basis. Of the three Indian pacers used by KXIP, only Ankit Rajpoot has an economy rate of less than 10.

After playing six matches each, Barinder Sran and Mohit Sharma have been leaking runs and have taken a total of 10 wickets only. Ankit Rajpoot picked up a five-wicket haul against Sunrisers Hyderabad but hasn't been effective in the remaining matches as he picked up only three wickets in the other four matches.

If KXIP's Indian fast bowlers continue the same performance with the ball, then the gates will soon close down for the Punjab-based franchise.