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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
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