Middle order blues hurting Punjab

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New Delhi: Put aside Irfan Pathan's swashbuckling 60 runs riding on which Punjab nearly swept the carpet under Deccan's feet and their batting woes are glaring. The middle order has failed for the third time in a row and any more delay would severely dent their chances of reaching the top four.

Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals seem to be fighting for the bottom spot in the IPL, but Punjab's problems are distinctly different from the trouble plaguing the Royals. Kumar Sangakkara, Yuvraj Singh, Mahela Jayawardene and Adrian Barath's failure to be among the runs has put too much pressure on the openers to provide them a solid start like they did against Bangalore. But when they didn't, they were left woefully exposed.

The discomfort through which Yuvraj has been batting is evident and Punjab would do him good by giving their ace batsman a break. Sangakkara, though impressive while marashalling his troops on the field, has been found wanting with the bat. Punjab rely on the consistency of their middle order which they are accustomed to and their soft dismissals will certainly not be confidence inspiring in the dressing room. They are a very different team when the triumvirate comes good.

Punjab's bowlers, however, were excellent in the later stages against Deccan Chargers. Despite Adam Gilchrist's terrific start, the Punjab bowlers pulled them back and restricted them to a chaseable total. The move to drop Yusuf Abdulla and Mohammad Kaif to include Shalabh Shrivastava and Barath worked partially, with the Indian bowler making an impressive start to this season.

Kings XI Punjab are up against Chennai Super Kings in the next game, who have blown away Kolkata and Delhi in their previous two encounters. Punjab must address their middle order batting with urgency as they are up against the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, who is going to be bowling the majority of his overs to them.

Deccan Chargerswere most impressive for a majority of the game's duration. They were off to a cracking start but VVS Laxman's injury and his obvious discomfort at the top of the order may prompt them for a replacement. They may bring in Venugopal Rao in his place and push Gibbs to open the innings with Gilchrist.

While Punjab's batting revolves around Yuvraj, Sangakkara and Jayawardene, Deccan seem to bank heavily on Gilchrist, Gibbs and Symonds. Rohit Sharma, though run out unfortunately, has not been up to the standards we have been used to from the stylish batsman and he would be itching to be among the run-getters for his team.

Deccan were at least 40-50 runs short against Punjab after they threw away a start which saw them cruise to 100-1 in the first 10 overs. Despite ending up with an average total, Deccan were helped by their bowling which has been in good form, led by the seasoned Chaminda Vaas. RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha have supported Vaas with tight spells and so has Jaskaran Singh, who urged his captain to give him the final over that won them the game.

Deccan, though, cannot afford to throw away the kind of starts they get from Gilchrist as Delhi Daredevils, who they face next, have an in-form Virender Sehwag who can hurt their chances if they end up with a par total.