IPL 2017: 5 reasons why Kings XI Punjab could not make it to the playoffs

Kings XI Punjab missed out on a playoff spot after they lost to Rising Pune Supergiant in a do-or-die encounter.

The Glenn Maxwell-led unit played some fearless cricket to win back-to-back games and needed another win against Pune to proceed to the playoffs. However, the overly aggressive strategy that had yielded rich dividends in the game against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium backfired on a slower track as Punjab plummeted to 73 all out. Virender Sehwag lambasted the skipper, Maxwell, and other overseas players after the match, accusing them of playing irresponsibly in the must win game.

The Punjab think-tank could not marry consistency with flamboyancy and despite looking like the team to beat on several occasions during the league phase, they fell short at the final hurdle. Here we take a look at five things that backfired for the Punjab franchise that led to their ousting before the playoffs.

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#5 Hashim Amla's departure

The veteran South African batsman was Kings XI's anchor right through the season. With 420 runs in 10 games, Amla dominated the bowlers and shielded the Punjab lower order. His dynamic batsmanship was the prime reason for Punjab's success in the early stages of the tournament.

Unfortunately for Kings XI, Amla had to head back to South Africa and Punjab were left without someone to bat around. They had a slew of power hitters but needed someone to stay and play the role of a sheet anchor. Amla's absence was also rued by Sehwag in the post-match press conference in which he criticised the other foreign players for not standing up and taking responsibility.

#4 The poor form of foreign batsmen

Guptill failed to live up to his reputation

Kings XI Punjab had invested in some pretty good foreign batters but apart from Hashim Amla and skipper Maxwell, to an extent, none of the others could contribute much. Their squad included the likes of Shaun Marsh, Eoin Morgan, Marcus Stoinis and Martin Guptill.

Guptill, who replaced Amla at the top, started with aplomb but failed to carry that form into the back end. Marsh was taken for a ride by the spinners and Morgan never got enough game time to make an impact. Stoinis' injury added to Punjab's woes and eventually, the collective failure of the foreign players cost them a playoff berth.

#3 Lack of support fast bowlers

Sandeep Sharma sorely lacked support from the other pace bowlers

Kings XI Punjab knew that Sandeep Sharma would lead their pace attack. Having done the job pretty well over the past few years, the swing bowler was once again right on the money for the Punjab franchise. However, he received very little support from the bowlers at the other end.

Mohit Sharma was ineffective at the death compared to last season while Natarajan, the TNPL find, was hit and miss. Varun Aaron bowled with pace but a lack of penetration coupled with the failure to bowl economically made him a risky option. Ishant Sharma was tried and dumped while Matt Henry also failed to create an impact. With Stoinis injured, Kings XI also did not have a medium pacer to check the scoring rate in the middle overs.

#2 Over dependency on Axar Patel

Rahul Tewatia's inclusion made a difference but the change came too late

Kings XI Punjab made a huge blunder in the auctions by not picking a good spinner. They had the services of Axar Patel but needed another decent spinner to back him up. With the likes of Swapnil Singh and Cariappa failing, Punjab were short on top quality spin options.

Axar, to his credit, did an exceptional job with both bat and ball but sorely missed a spin twin to bowl in tandem with. Maxwell took on some of the responsibility and did a decent job but a wicket-taking wrist spinner could have made a huge difference. Rahul Tewatia's inclusion in the latter stages made an immediate difference but it came a little too late in the season.

#1 The inconsistency of Vohra and Saha

Vohra had a forgettable tournament save for the 95 against Hyderabad

While the foreign batsmen failed to live up to expectations, the Indian batsmen in the line-up also did not contribute consistently. Manan Vohra and Wriddhiman Saha could not handle the pressure in the absence of Amla. Although both of them played one superb innings each, there was no other noteworthy knock from them.

Saha's promotion to an opener saw him crack a brilliant half-century but the move came too little too late with the wicket-keeper largely confined to the lower middle-order for most of the tournament. Vohra hit a valiant 95 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in a losing cause but failed to contribute for the rest of the tournament.