OPINION
Follow UsMayank Agarwal and Anil Kumble have spoken at length about how Punjab Kings want to play “aggressive and hard cricket” in the ongoing Indian Premier League, but the ploy clearly hasn’t produced desired results so far. There’s nothing wrong in looking to go hell for leather from the very start of the innings but there are some basic requirements to make this a successful and sustainable approach. And, Punjab plainly lack on several fronts.
One of the biggest reasons why Punjab haven’t been successful with this tried-and-tested method is because they don’t have a world-class allrounder. They spent big bucks on Odean Smith in the mega auction but the all-rounder from West Indies has failed to deliver with both bat and ball. Eoin Morgan’s England side has been extremely successful with this “all-or-nothing” approach but only because they have never had someone like Kagiso Rabada batting at No. 7.
"When you have got Kagiso Rabada batting at No. 7, that's a problem for me. That's definitely at least a one place high, in fact, two place high for KG. If you get yourself into trouble, he is not someone who will get you a 70 or 80. That's way too high for KG. Punjab have got the top-order but four players going gung-ho is not going to help you," former South Africa captain Graeme Smith told Cricket.com.
What’s more, half of Punjab batters haven’t been in great form and that’s why they find themselves at the bottom half of the point table. On Wednesday (April 20) against Delhi Capitals, Punjab decided to leave Smith out of the playing XI and brought in Australian paceman Nathan Ellis, hence weakening their batting even further. The Punjab batters walked out with a similar approach but were bowled out for just 115 in 20 overs. Then, Prithvi Shaw and David Warner went berserk in the second innings and Delhi chased down the total with 9.3 overs to spare.
This game serves as a perfect example if you want to reflect on why PBKS have been so inconsistent in this competition. Agarwal and his men started this season by chasing down 205 against Royal Challengers Bangalore but things haven’t quite gone in their favour since then. Liam Livingstone has clearly looked head and shoulders above the rest, while wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma too has been impressive in his first season, but the same can’t be said about other batters.
Shikhar Dhawan has scored 214 runs in seven innings but the veteran opener has looked far from his best. Meanwhile, Agarwal, Shahrukh Khan and Jonny Bairstow are all averaging less than 20. Bhanuka Rajapaksa smoked 83 runs in the first three games at a strike rate of 230.55 but the left-hander from Sri Lanka was dropped from the playing XI once Bairstow was available. The match against Delhi was a crucial one for PBKS but their batters failed to step up and suffered a defeat that brought their NRR from +0.109 to -0.562.
Skipper Agarwal got Punjab off to a flying start but things went downhill once Dhawan perished in the fourth over. Agarwal was bowled in the very next over, while Bairstow and Livingstone could only manage 11 runs between them. Jitesh did play a couple of exciting shots in his 23-ball 32 but that was never going to save Punjab from a humiliation. On top of that, Shahrukh’s horrible run of form continued as he could only manage 12 off 20 deliveries. Punjab were eight wickets down before the end of 15 overs and once again failed to capitalise on the death overs, which has been the story for them this season.
“It's a tough one, a day to forget for us, best to move on and not think too much into the game. We didn't bat and bowl well, we just need to move on from today. We have been losing too many wickets too early, that's a concern. Don't want to dwell too much, if we do so, a lot of negatives will come out,” said Agarwal after the defeat against Delhi.
Punjab have been dominating in the powerplay and have the second-best scoring rate (9.5) and balls/boundary (4.1) in this phase but they have failed to do the same in the middle and death overs, largely because they have lost too many wickets. They have the worst balls/wicket (14.5) and the second-worst scoring rate (8) in the middle phase of the innings, and when it comes to death, those numbers get even more worse. In the last five overs, Punjab have operated at a scoring rate of just 8.4, which is way below the second-worst - Kolkata Knight Riders’ 9.8. They also have the worst balls/boundary (5.9) and second-worst balls/wicket (10.2) in the last phase of the innings.
156/5, 102/8, 147/5, 152/5, 132/3, 122/4 and 96/8 - these are Punjab’s scores at the end of 15 overs in each of their seven encounters and only twice they have lost less than five wickets. These numbers would look great if you have enough batting depth. Punjab had Smith at No.7 in the first six games but even that was one slot higher for the West Indian who doesn’t have enough experience at this level.
Now, those numbers would have been even more inferior if not for Livingstone and Jitesh. Livingstone (174.1) and Jitesh (153.3) have superb strike rates in the middle overs but the rest of the Punjab batters have been quite mediocre. Bairstow has only scored 41 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 105.12, while Shahrukh has managed 98 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of exactly 100. You could also question some of their poor shot selections during crucial junctures.
In the game against Gujarat Lions, Livingstone and Shahrukh tried to take on Rashid Khan in his final over despite having four more overs remaining in the innings. The two were dismissed in the space of three deliveries and PBKS could only manage 18 runs in the next three overs before smashing Hardik Pandya for 16 in the final overs. Punjab finished 10-15 runs short and then we all know what Rahul Tewatia did in the second innings.
Punjab now might have to reassess their approach, at least till they get their combination right. And for that to happen, they will have to find answers to some tough questions. How do they fit in Rajapaksa in the playing XI? Can they trust a couple of Indian domestic allrounders to bat lower down the order and give them at least four overs between them in every game?
Well, they surely have decent options in that department. The likes of Rishi Dhawan, Writtick Chatterjee, Prerak Mankad and Harpreet Brar are all proven performers and could certainly give Punjab more depth in both departments. Agarwal and Kumble want Punjab to play “bold” cricket (nothing to do with their Bangalore connection), but for now, it’s them who need to make a couple of “bold” calls before it gets too late.
