KXIP vs RCB: 3 areas KXIP need to work on to get back to winning ways

#2 KXIP’s Indian bowlers need to step up and deliver

Andrew Tye

KXIP’s batting and bowling this season has followed a similar pattern - over dependency on two players to win them games. If it's KL Rahul and Chris Gayle with the bat, it’s Andrew Tye with 20 wickets and Mujib-ur-Rehman with 14 wickets who have shouldered the burden of the bowling attack.

Apart from Ankit Rajpoot who impressed in the five games he played, claiming 8 wickets, before missing out on the last couple of games, no Indian bowler- spinner or fast bowler - has been able to build pressure and get wickets when it’s required for the side.

Barinder Sran has had a decent run, but his sheer inability to control the run flow at the death overs has been a cause for concern. The same applies for Mohit Sharma, whose strength was to come in the latter half of the innings and fox batsmen with a variety of slower balls and cutters.

But batsmen across all franchises know what to expect from Mohit Sharma, and unless he adds a few more tricks in his bag, he is going to travel the distance like he has so far. The biggest disappointment would be how their captain R Ashwin, and the player they retained, Axar Patel, have performed.

Their roles are actually well laid out. They need to control the flow of runs in the middle overs and probably get wickets in the process, so that it enables the likes of Andrew Tye or Ankit Rajpoot to come in at the death overs and finish the innings well.

Not only have they not been able to stent the flow of runs, they have not looked like getting too many wickets either. KXIP really need both of them to deliver. It’s that time in the season, where players who can make a difference must stand up and deliver.

KXIP will hope the likes of R Ashwin and Axar Patel would provide adequate support to the likes of Andrew Tye and Mujib in their clash against RCB tonight at Indore.