Performance in IPL 2008Punjab started their campaign poorly, having lost to Chennai and Rajasthan but things in fell in place for them after that. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore were humbled as Punjab went from strength to strength, winning 5 games in a row.
Punjab lost only two more matches in the league stage - against Kolkata and Chennai. They entered the semi-finals as one of the favourites to lift the trophy after their consistent performance.
However, they were not able to beat their nemesis Chennai, to whom they had lost both their league games. Punjab were dismissed for 112 and Chennai chased down the total rather comfortably.
Who's in, who's out
Who's in? Punjab had a more or less settled team and their only big catch for this year was England all-rounder Ravi Bopara (USD 450,000). Punjab also signed New South Wales rookie Burt Cockley, a fast medium bowler.
Punjab had also bought Jerome Taylor (USD 150,000) at the auction but with the West-Indian quick not available after being injured in a car accident, the Mohali Team were quick to sign on Yusuf Abdulla, a left-arm fast bowler from Durban, who recently made his T20 debut for South Africa.
Who's out? As many as three Australians from Kings XI Punjab - Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh and James Hopes - have been named in Australia's squad for their series against Pakistan, meaning they will only be available for the second half of the tournament. Shaun Marsh was the leading run-scorer of the tournament last year and his presence will be sorely missed.
The bowling will be spearheaded by Irfan Pathan since S. Sreesanth has been ruled of the tournament with a stress fracture in his back.
Players to watch out for
Yuvraj Singh: Though Yuvraj Singh did not have a great series in New Zealand, his heroics in the T20 World Cup in South Africa should serve as a confidence-booster. It is only a matter of time before this stylish left-hander comes good.
Ravi Bopara: Ravi Bopara is one of the most exciting talents in England. He possesses all the strokes in the book and then more. A master of improvisation, he has scored heavily in T20 cricket. A useful medium-pacer, Bopara is also an agile fielder.
Irfan Pathan: Pathan has not enjoyed much success of late but helpful conditions in South Africa will aid his bowling. He will also be expected to play a major role with the bat.
Kumar Sangakkara: Sangakkara might not be the quintessential Tweny20 batsman but he scored his 320 runs at a healthy strike rate of 161 with his classical array of strokes. A master strategist, he is one of the most experienced players in the squad and is likely to feature in most games for his side.
Trivia
Irfan Pathan was one of only 3 bowlers who bowled two maiden overs in a match.
James Hopes became the 1st bowler to concede more than 50 runs in a 4-over spell.
Kings XI Punjab scored at an average run-rate of 9.05 in the tournament, the best among all teams.
Luke Pomersbach of Punjab ended up with the highest average in the IPL with an average of 152. He was helped by four not outs though.
Shaun Marsh of Punjab holds the record of scoring more 50 plus scores than any other player in the IPL with 1 hundred and 5 fifties.
Kumar Sangakkara was one of the three batsmen to have got out in the nineties in the IPL.
S Sreesanth is the bowler to have conceded the most extras in the IPL. He bowled 21 wides and 4 no balls.
Irfan Pathan is one of 2 players to have inflicted 2 run outs with direct hits in the IPL.
Kings XI Punjab batsmen hit a total of 95 sixes in the IPL, the most by any team.
Kings XI Punjab also conceded the most number of sixes with a total of 93.
Shaun Marsh happened to be the best buy in the IPL among the batsmen. At USD 30,000 he cost around $48 for every run.
Current Squad
Yuvraj Singh, Shaun Marsh (AUS), Mahela Jayawardene (SL), Simon Katich (AUS), Luke Pomersbach (AUS), Sunny Sohal, Karan Goel, Tanmay Srivastava, Sahil Kukreja, Yusuf Abdulla (SA), Ajitesh Argal, Ravi Bopara (ENG), Piyush Chawla, Burt Cockley (AUS), James Hopes (AUS), Uday Kaul, Brett Lee (AUS), Wilkin Mota, Ryan Ninan, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Kumar Sangakkara (SL), VRV Singh, Sreesanth, Jerome Taylor (WI)
Coaches
Head Coach: Tom Moody (AUS)
Assistant Head Coach: Trevor Penney (SA)
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