IPL 2018, SRH vs KXIP: 5 reasons why KXIP lost

It was North vs South India at the IPL as a high flying Kings XI Punjab side locked horns against a well rounded Sunrisers Hyderabad outfit at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Ashwin won the crucial toss and put the home team in to bat.

It was a slow wicket and Punjab made the early inroads by dismissing Williamson, Dhawan and Saha inside six overs. Manish Pandey and Shakib Al-Hasan came together and stitched a fine partnership before the latter threw it away. Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey tried their best to push the score beyond 140 but some tight death bowling restricted the home side to 132 for 6 in 20 overs.

High on confidence from their last game where SRH defended a paltry 118, they believed that they could do it again but the task was always going to be tough against a KXIP side whose batting has been simply incredible this season.

Chasing 133, Punjab once again got off to a good start courtesy their in-form openers, Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. They added yet another 50+ stand as Punjab looked set to chase the target with ease. SRH needed a wicket and Williamson turned to his premier spinner Rashid Khan, who castled Rahul with a beauty.

Once Rahul was sent packing, Punjab lost wickets in a cluster and eventually fell short by 13 runs. It was an incredible comeback by SRH, who once again managed to defend a low total.

Let's take a look at 5 reasons why KXIP lost the game.

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#1 Poor catching and fielding

They say “catches win matches” and that's exactly what the Kings XI Punjab failed to do. They dropped as many as four catches and the fielding too was below par.

Pandey was the beneficiary on two occasions and he made the most of it by cracking a gritty half-century to take SRH to a respectable score. In the end, the dropped chances came back to haunt the Kings XI as they fell short by 13 runs.

#2 Ashwin being a touch expensive

On a night where most of the Kings XI Punjab bowlers were economical, their captain, Ravichandran Ashwin was a touch expensive. He went for 34 runs in his four overs and did not manage to pick up a wicket.

It was a pitch that assisted the slower bowlers and Ashwin didn't make it count. Barinder Sran too, was a tad expensive, as the left arm seamer leaked 27 runs off his 3 overs with no wickets to his name.

#3 Under firing middle order

KXIP have been heavily dependent on Gayle and KL Rahul and once they were dismissed after a wonderful 50+ stand, the middle order once again failed to capitalise on the good start.

They fell under the pressure and handed SRH a 13-run win. Finch's poor form has been a worrying sign for Punjab and they need the Victorian to get his form back as soon as possible.

Mayank too has been unable to carry his sensational domestic season form into the IPL. Some worrying signs lie ahead of the Kings XI Punjab.

#4 Lack of depth in batting

Kings XI Punjab has got solid openers in Gayle and KL Rahul who have been in sublime form. Finch, Nair, Mayank and Manoj Tiwary make it a decent middle order but the team lacks depth in batting and that showed today.

Ashwin, at 7, can bat but post him there's not much batting to rely upon. Tye, Sran, Mujeeb and Rajpoot make up the tail and with them unable to contribute with the bat, Punjab certainly need to ring in some changes for the upcoming games.

#5 Rashid Khan’s amazing spell

Chasing just 133, KXIP got off to a terrific start and raced to 55 for no loss in quick time. SRH need wickets and boy, wickets did they get. Rashid Khan bamboozled KL Rahul with a beauty and that wicket started the Punjab collapse.

Kings XI never recovered from that as wickets continued to fall like nine pins. Eventually, Punjab slipped to a 13-run defeat. Rashid Khan ended with wonderful figures of 3 for 19 off 4 overs and was ably supported by Basil Thampi, Shakib and Sandeep who chipped in with two wickets apiece.