Punjab looking to get their house in order

When they come out to face each other, the only thing common between the Mumbai Indians and the Punjab Kings will be a loss to their name in their last game. On other aspects, the two outfits are as far apart as Punjab have been from an IPL trophy.

Mumbai have a solid core of utility players. Punjab are a team filled with one-dimensional players. Mumbai’s fiercest batsmen walk in from number five. Punjab’s batting ends at number four. Most Mumbai batsmen understand the need for boundary hitting. Punjab’s skipper feels strike rates are overrated. Mumbai have a bowling line-up capable of defending any target. Punjab defended 221 by four runs. Mumbai apply common sense while fielding an XI. Punjab went in with only three frontline bowlers in their last game on a wicket where 150 is a par score.

Playing their first IPL ever, both Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith had an economy of 10.5 in their first three games. All these were on batting-friendly wickets at Wankhede. Moreover, they bowled second in each of those where dew also made batting easier. With the team moving to Chennai for the next two games, the duo would have breathed easy, thinking of turning their fortunes around on a conducive wicket. For the management too, the venue change was an opportunity to infuse some confidence in at least one of their front-line pacer. On the game day, neither of them got a look-in, adding further scars to their already low morale.

Of all people Punjab’s head coach Anil Kumble - who has the record for the cheapest five wicket haul and an eniviable career economy rate of 6.68 in IPL- should know that he went wicketless in his first five IPL games conceding almost 9 runs per over in 2008.

Even luck seems to have evaded Punjab at the moment. Becoming the only possessor of a duck in zero, one, two and three balls in IPL history – the first three in this season itself – Nicholas Pooran seems to have caught a deadlier variant of the Glenn Maxwell bug. With the season imploding before it even began, KL Rahul has moved from nonchalance to caution in a space of one game. After a loss in their third game, he stated that they still have a few more games to go. After a loss in the fourth, the response had urgency - “Every game from now is important for us and we've always been in that situation, where we get in a place where we have to win every game. Not a bad place to be, to be honest.” If this is what  Punjab need to bring out the best in them, they can afford to relax for three more games mathematically.

What can Punjab try now?

While it is the bowlers that are getting the axe, it is their batting that has let Punjab down so far. Even when they have played three games at Wankhede and have scored 190+ twice, their run rate in the Powerplay is the worst among all sides this season. The batting average is better than only Rajasthan.

This is in complete contrast to last season when they had their average (48.4) in the first six overs was the best after Sunrisers. Their run rate of 8.06 was also in line with the better teams. This year, Rahul with a strike rate of 94 in the Powerplay has pegged them back at the start. Chris Gayle, at number three, with a strike rate of 104.1 in the first 15 balls has advanced the defensive mindset. Their approach has resulted in Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran having to play a riskier brand of cricket. 

The positives for Punjab so far have been returns from Deepak Hooda and Shahrukh Khan, both of whom average above 35 at a strike rate of 145+. For their last game in Chennai, they can experiment with swapping the position of Rahul and Gayle. There would be no pressure on Gayle to rotate strike – something that was also the reason for Pooran’s dismissal in the last game – and Rahul can anchor the innings in the middle-overs.

On the bowling front, it would be wise to bring back at least Richardson if not Meredith as well. Richardson, being capable of wielding the willow himself, can replace Moises Henriques who bowled just one over in their last game. 

Mumbai’s own headache

Mumbai’s middle-order has been a source of envy for other sides. In this season, playing in Chennai has been a nightmare for them. With only one half-century score in four games – Suryakumar Yadav against Kolkata – their batting has never looked this wobbly. 

Not only their number four to seven have been having their worst year as a unit, but their struggle is also palpable even at an individual level.

In two of the last four games, Mumbai’s bowlers have been able to bail them out. Trent Boult said ahead of their game against Punjab that he can’t wait to bowl at other venues where he might get more swing. But, his eagerness to get away from Chennai would be paler in comparison to their middle-order.

When Mumbai and Punjab came head to head the last time the game went into a double Super Over. Right now, if Mumbai had to choose a team to see off a tough leg in Chennai, it is highly likely that the demoralized Punjab team would have been their choice as an opponent.