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t he Kings XI Punjab on paper were every bit and reduced the Delhi innings to 6 overs and the
Kings and every bit Punjabi – truly lion hearted target to a paltry 58 runs, which the Delhi due of
and very colorful. They had the maximum Sehwag and Gambhir would have knocked off in
number of India internationals on their rolls. Icon their sleep, if need be. Kings XI cried foul but did
player Yuvraj, all rounder Irfan, the mercurial not lose much sleep over their season opener,
Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, Romesh Powar and as this was just the start and the semis were a
VRV Singh. Added to this were the exciting long way away. It was only after their next game
young talents of Wilkin Mota and Sunny Sohal. against the Kolkata Knights that they started
Only after this would you start counting their tossing around in bed losing some sleep. Some
enviable foreign line up. The talented Kumar solid middle order batting took the team to 158,
Sangakarra, the solid Mahela Jayawardene and an above par total on those wickets. But Preity’s
part time musician, fulltime rockstar Brett Lee. old foes, Messer’s Duckworth and Lewis came
There was no doubt that they were big on talent, into play yet again and the revised target for
but in IPL 2009 in South Africa we witnessed that Kolkata openers McCullam and Gayle, was akin
they were also big in another department - bad to taking candy from a baby.
luck. Lady Luck was treating them like a vicious
ex-wife out for some juicy alimony. First up, they “The D&L method always favors the team
lost their trump card from the inaugural season batting second” said Priety in a post match
in Shaun Marsh, before the tournament even interview. Ness Wadia stood in the president’s
started. Then injuries to key players and then box, shaking his head and looking at the sky,
the rain affected matches. wondering how they would ever overcome
opposition as mighty as Mother Nature, as that
Preity Zinta, smarting from the rain gods being is a battle you just cannot win.
unkind, said, “I have never met Duckworth
and Lewis, but when I do meet them they will Meanwhile, behind the scenes things were not
definitely hear a mouthful from me”. She would as rosy for KXIP. The weather and the injuries
readily add the Rain Gods to that list too. Their had been affecting team and player morale.
first game against the Delhi Daredevils saw them Then there was speculation in the media about
recover from early setbacks and put up a decent the personal lives of the owners of the franchise,
total on the board in a match reduced to 12 overs. all adding to the tension in the air. The Kings XI
But rain came again midway through the game campaign in IPL 2009 was by no means going
brett lee
174 KINGS XI PUNJAB KINGS XI PUNJAB 175
