David Hussey

Hyderabad: With the licence of being cliched, the apt way of describing the Deccan Chargers’ motivation for the remaining of their IPL-V matches would be: Play for pride.

Yes, they have lost some close matches which could easily have gone their way, but if you can’t finish a game, you do not win… And if you don’t win, you are a loser. On that point, the Chargers can give no excuse for their poor show in the ongoing edition of the IPL.

To be honest, Kumar Sangakkara is a fantastic captain and he hasn’t indulged in giving excuses for his side’s flop show. On the contrary, after every match, the Sri Lankan has called on his boys to rise to the challenge, to keep trying and to improve themselves in a way so that they can seize the important moments of a match.

So there’s no doubt that Sangakkara would want his team to give their best when they take on the Kings XI Punjab in a home match, on Tuesday.

Having won just two out of the 11 matches they have played so far, Chargers are presently languishing at the bottom of the points table with just five points.

Though their batsmen put up an impressive show against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, the lacklustre performance of their bowlers, and of course AB de Villiers’ superlative batting, poured cold water on the their hopes of staging a comeback.

Kings XI, on the other hand, are still in with a chance of making it to the knockout stages, having garnered 10 points from 11 games.

The Punjab side would make a determined bid to win against the struggling Chargers to improve their position in the points table. After consecutive wins over defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI suffered a 43-run defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals in their last game.

They would be hoping to return to winning ways as a single defeat in the remaining five games could jeopardise their playoff chances.

Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood’s presence in the side has meant that the Kings XI have struck the right balance. Stand-in captain David Hussey’s leadership has revived the sagging fortunes of the team. (Agencies)