We are not even halfway through IPL 9, and Kings XI Punjab find themselves relegated to the bottom of the table, with just one win thus far from six games. Although it may seem a bit too premature to predict , Kings XI Punjab may have dug themselves into such a big hole that they will find it difficult to make it to the next round from here. The other teams have already made significant progress in the IPL, but for maybe Rising Pune Supergiants. Punjab have struggled because both their batting and bowling has come up with hollow performances. Against Mumbai Indians in the last match, their fielding too was atrocious, and pretty much mirrored the team's troubles.
Having had a disastrous season 8, Punjab looked to start the new tournament on a fresh note. The significant change here was dumping George Bailey, who led them last year, altogether. The reins of leadership were handed over to David Miller. It was a move that was a bold one, but definitely one fraught with risk since the South African is completely inexperienced when it comes to leadership. And, unless something drastically changes in the next few matches, Punjab would end up ruing their decision yet again. Miller has failed to inspire the team either with his tactical acumen or leadership skills. It remains to be seen how he recovers from this traumatic run.
Punjab began the season with a number of big names in the batting, and some highly talented upcoming names. But, neither have fired for them. The long list includes skipper Miller himself. A batsman of big-hitting pedigree, Miller has just not come to the party. A couple of years back when Punjab made it to the final, Miller and Glenn Maxwell were their two standout performers. This season, both have been extremely disappointing, although Maxwell has played a couple of decent knocks. Shaun Marsh and Murali Vijay have also failed to make much of an impact, when a lot more was expected of them. Manan Vohra also hasn't been consistent.
The story has been pretty poor in the bowling department as well. Mitchell Johnson missed most of the early matches for the team, and against Mumbai, he looked totally rusty. Mohit Sharma has picked up a few wickets, but has been nowhere as incisive as he was for Chennai Super Kings. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel has been terribly disappointing, failing to make any kind of impact on the opposition batsmen. In fact, he is proving to be easy fodder for them. Of all the bowlers, medium pacer Sandeep Sharma has been the most impressive, and even he has been expensive on a couple of occasions. 
The constant loss of wickets would definitely have dented Punjab's confidence severely. To make a comeback from here, they will need to show herculean qualities, losing as few games as possible. On current form, that seems close to impossible. Having said that, Punjab only need to look as far as their previous opponents Mumbai to seek inspiration.
-- By A Cricket Analyst
