Kings XI need to start afresh at original home

Subhash Rajta

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26

Kings XI Pune, err Punjab, are home. Well, it’s easy to get the name mixed up when a team shows up at its home ground after almost half the tournament has gone by.
And then, despite being away for such a long while. it isn’t a happy homecoming either. The Kings XI, who looked almost unbeatable last season, are coming home lying at the bottom of the heap. The good news is, the team they will take on in their first game at home on Monday, Sunrisers Hyderabad, too haven’t had a great tournament.
As is evident from the results they have logged so far, two wins from six games, the move to a new home, Pune, hasn’t been fruitful, at least on the field. By starting off at a new venue, Kings XI lost the crucial home advantage. Had they teed off at home, the results could have been different for them.
Vohra needs a look-in
Now that they are back on their turf, the team perhaps needs to have a re-look at their playing XI, especially the opening pair. It’s alright for them to have gone with Virender Sehwag and M Vijay at the start, the two are India players after all. But the two batsmen haven’t lived up to their reputation in the first six games – Sehwag is averaging just 16 and Vijay has scored at the average of 24. It’s high time the pair is broken and Manan Vohra, the other opener waiting in the wings, is given a look-in. Apart from their failure, what warrants Vohra’s inclusion into the playing XI is his last season’s record — he averaged 40 plus with a strike rate touching impressive 140.
And they of course need to tighten up their fielding. Their effort on the ground against Chennai Super Kings was simply pathetic. If they don’t improve upon that, they could already count themselves out of the race.
Looking for a turnaround, it’s good they are facing Sunrisers Hyderabad, the other team struggling with its composition. They have a terrific attack and potent opening pair in Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner but the middle is struggling big time.
With both the teams looking to get back to winnings ways, one could expect a cracker of a match at Mohali.
Hopefully, the original home will turn out a little more kinder to the beleaguered Kings than their new home.