Johnson injury compounds Kings XI's bowling worries

Abu Dhabi, April 18, 2014. When they let Chennai Super Kings hammer their way to 205, it appeared as if Kings XI Punjab had made another disappointing beginning to another disappointing IPL season. What followed was mayhem. Glenn Maxwell smacked 95 off 43 balls, David Miller an unbeaten 54 off 37, and Kings XI won with seven balls to spare. It set the template for their season, and an awe-inspiring batting line-up, led by Maxwell and Miller, powered Kings XI to top of the IPL league table, with 11 wins in 14 games.

They lost the first Qualifier to Kolkata Knight Riders, but reached the final on their next attempt, by brushing Super Kings aside with another brutal batting display, led this time by Virender Sehwag's 58-ball 122. In the final, Knight Riders proved they were a better-balanced side than Kings XI, beating them for the third time in four meetings by chasing down 200.

Kings XI made the four highest totals in the 2014 IPL, emphatic proof that theirs was the most potent batting line-up in the tournament. And it wasn't about one or two individuals. Maxwell and Miller hogged most of the attention in the league stages, and the others put their hands up in the knock-out matches. Sehwag was the game-changer in the second qualifier against Super Kings, while Wriddhiman Saha set them up in the final with an unbeaten 115 of 55 balls. Looking through the other batting line-ups in the tournament, it's hard to see any that can match Kings XI for relentless explosive quality.

If Kings XI were the best batting team in the IPL, they were also the most suspect bowling attack. Though they posted four of the nine 200-plus totals in the 2014 season, they conceded four of the other five. One of these instances, crushingly, came in the final. With Mitchell Johnson missing at least the first half of the tournament with a rib injury and Sandeep Sharma sidelined until December, their bowling stocks look pretty bare.

Having begun the IPL season looking absolutely unstoppable, Glenn Maxwell tailed away towards the business end of it. He had a similarly mixed tri-series in Zimbabwe last month, starting with a bang - a 46-ball 93 in the first game against Zimbabwe - but scored only 22 runs in his next four innings. Kings XI, and a lot of neutral fans, will hope to see the inventive, thrill-a-minute Maxwell rather than the indifferent Maxwell.

In a team that leaked runs copiously through the IPL season, Akshar Patel gave Kings XI control with his left-arm spin, picking up 17 wickets and conceding only 6.13 runs an over. Not bad for someone who considers himself a batting allrounder. A calm, unbeaten 42 to steer Kings XI to a four-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils also bolstered his resume and Akshar gained selection for India's ODI tour of Bangladesh. But the selectors weren't impressed enough with his performances there to retain him for the England tour. Akshar will want to show everyone he can sustain the level of performance he maintained during the IPL.

Kings XI are making their first appearance in the Champions League T20 tournament