Follow UsWhen KL Rahul led Punjab Kings for two seasons after Ravichandran Ashwin’s departure to Delhi Capitals, the management’s approach came under severe scrutiny. Rahul’s appetite for runs was at an all-time high, as it was in 2018 and 2019, but it had a catastrophic impact on the side’s fortune. The pace with which Rahul scored his runs in the powerplay made things down the order a bit complicated and we all know the result.
At the same time, there was Mayank Agarwal at the other end, whose reinvention as a T20 batter left many of the already-established stars behind. An average of 38.55 at an SR of 156.5 in 2020 was complemented with an average of 40.09 and an SR of 140.4 the following year, Agarwal made sure his impact was on Green all the while. Progression to the captaincy role was a reward for his high-impact performance and hope of sustainability in the longer term.
However, come the tournament, we have been dealt with a low that further epitomized Punjab Kings’ hit and miss season - a blow that had its own regulation challenges. Could we squarely blame Mayank for that? Definitely not. The Karnataka batter has done everything in his capacity to ensure things have become more streamlined and even took the step of dropping himself down the order in order to accommodate more in-form players at the top, a move that is completely selfless in nature and could have potentially maximized the output value of their batting order.
In a previous column, I had listed down a few reasons which I thought caused such a drastic fall from grace, even though they had one of the most complete IPL auctions in recent memory. But as the fag end approached, perhaps, we have a clearer understanding of the frailties and the issues that held them back.
None more so than two Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals games of the season, the first one being at Brabourne and the other one was of course last night’s encounter where their batting order failed to muster any steam. In neither game, their batting could turn up. And that is in fact the story of the entire season.
That Liam Livingstone is the only non-opening batter in the side to have a fifty to his name lays bare the big problem that the side have been facing. When Jonny Bairstow was asked to step up the order, he immediately reaped dividends by hitting back-to-back fifties but that came at a cost of the entire structure being disoriented. The plan went off the radar and in a flash, we had a player with the caliber of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Shahrukh Khan warming the bench after a few failures. That confusion in the entire planning and bad form of players ensured a fantastic auction was ripped off to a callous of atrocity.
Further, it would be incredibly cruel to chastise Punjab Kings for last night’s batting. Sure, it was atrocious at many levels, but it was also one of those nights when Shardul Thakur decided to turn up with all his might. It was one of those nights when barring Mitchell Marsh, none had the timing to get the ball fly. It was one of those nights that tested the batters because they expected a comparatively faster pitch.
However, it is one of the nights when a team get to show their true character. It is when the team’s symmetry between planning and execution comes into play. Other teams in the competition realise the fierceness with which they operate. Unfortunately for Punjab, none of that was on show on Monday.
Now they don’t have their playoff fate in their own hands after losing to Delhi, who have now found themselves at an advantage in the final week of the league stage. But if in some unlikely scenario, they manage to sneak past and secure one of the final four spots, the riding hope on them would still be at a low. It’s now upto Agarwal and his band of boys if they can make something out of this unwanted situation.