Often teams are not bad, they are just playing badly...

i'm delighted that the knight riders won a game. after all that has happened around their team, some self-inflicted some uncalled for, they must have enjoyed the winning feeling. i suspect the arrival of david hussey would have played a big role. at t20 level he is a genuine match winner and apart from the runs he will score he can deliver at least two overs a game and like almost all aussies is an excellent fielder-perfect combination for a top order batsman.

i'm pretty certain too that he would have brought in fresh thought and fresh optimism into the side. sometimes failure can become a habit because after a while a team can get numb and failure can become a self fulfilling prophecy. often teams are not bad, they are just playing badly and it requires a little trigger for them to rediscover their worth. i think their batting is still too thin but if you get a good start then 20 overs is not a lot. watch out too for wriddhiman saha who looks a fine young player and should soon, with abhishek nayar, be on the fringes of the national t20 team. ( to know more about player performances visit https://www.castrolcricket.com/IPL-2009/players)

brett lee seems to have invigorated the kings xi punjab as well. not only is he bowling well he is providing support for sreesanth who has to rediscover what bowling at this level is all about even though he seems to have no problems with his antics. they come in the way of his success. they are looking a better side as the tournament has progressed and a fair bit of that has to do with the performance of irfan pathan who in spite of the odd off day is bowling better than he has had for at least a year now.

and the super kings found out, much to the anger of their captain, that if you bowl length balls and full tosses in the end overs no target is too big. i am afraid they are another side where the indian contingent is not pulling its weight in the field. for all his brilliance had suresh raina been at the bowler's end to collect the throw from dhoni they might have tied, or even won the game. tough to quantify those!