Marcus Stoinis is a quality-all rounder in world cricket, where he can take crucial wickets with his medium pace and has the potential to destroy bowlers with his brute batting power.
The same was witnessed when Australia took on New Zealand at Eden Park on Monday, with Stoinis nearly pulling-off one of the greatest run chases in cricket history, from an impossible situation.
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Coming into bat when Australia were 54 runs for five wickets, chasing 287 runs to win, the odds were stacked against Stoinis, who is not even Australia's first-choice all-rounder. Mitchell Marsh is their ideal choice. However, the Australia thinktank might have to rethink this after Stoinis' three-wicket haul and an incredible 117-ball 146, which comprised nine fours and 11 sixes.
Stonis will be disappointed as Australia fell short by six runs only and he finished not out at the other end.
This stunning performance proves exactly why the Australian all-rounder will hold the key for Kings XI Punjab during IPL 2017. There is a dearth of quality all-rounders in world cricket and Stoinis, when on song, belongs to the elite bracket.
The Kings XI Punjab officials, who may or may not have watched the stunning batting effort from the all-rounder on Monday, will hope for a consistent performance from Stoinis in IPL 2017 as well. The franchise need to make good use of his skills and use him accordingly in the batting order as a floater.
The Australian can hit those massive sixes and unsettle bowlers. Stoinis has always been a solid performer in the domestic circuit for Australia, and he showed his all-rounder skills last season with Kings XI Punjab as well.
Stoinis might have been decent last season, scoring 146 runs and eight wickets in seven matches, but the franchise will look for much more from him in IPL 2017.
With some great IPL experience last season, the all-rounder is going to be a huge threat to other teams in the cash-rich league this season. His solid performance on Monday showed that he has all the ingredients in the bowling and batting department to help Kings XI Punjab shine in 2017.
The Kings XI Punjab, ever since its debut in the IPL, has never won the title. Their best performance has been runners-up finish in 2014, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders. They do have star players to deliver in IPL 2017 to win the title.
In players like David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Hashim Amla, they have some solid foreign players, but there is a serious need for Kings XI Punjab to be busy during the upcoming auction next month in Bengaluru.
The franchise will have to get some solid domestic players in the auction to strengthen their team and form a formidable side to win IPL 2017.
If big players like Maxwell, Miller and Stoinis fire, Kings XI Punjab will be the team to beat in the competition.
