Follow UsSanjay Bangar, Punjab Kings’ Head of Cricket development, asserted that there’s not a lot his side could have done against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on March 30 (Saturday) and insisted that the Kings were undone by a ‘phenomenal’ spell from young tearaway Mayank Yadav.
Chasing 200, the Kings, at one point, were coasting at 102/0 but then suffered a fatal collapse that saw them lose five wickets for 39 runs. Three of those wickets were taken by debutant Mayank, who bowled both the fastest ball and fastest spell of IPL 2024 to run through the Kings. In the end, the visitors fell short by 21 runs to slip to their second defeat in as many games.
Bangar said that the hard lengths Mayank hit made it very difficult for the Punjab batters.
“I thought we had a phenomenal start, but credit to the young fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who came in and broke the back of our batting,” Bangar said at the press conference post the game.
“He bowled really fast and the lengths that he bowled made it difficult [for us]. He used the big side of the boundary really well. That is something which put us back big time in the game.”
Punjab suffered a blow in the first innings when x-factor batter Liam Livingstone injured himself on the field trying to stop a boundary. Livingstone still came out to bat in the second innings, but the injury he suffered forced PBKS to delay his entry point.
Bangar said that the untimely injury also hampered his side’s plans.
“We couldn’t really force the issue because Livingstone’s injury also hampered our plans a little bit, because he bats a bit higher up in the order,” Bangar said.
The PBKS Head of Cricket development was full of praise for 21-year-old Mayank, who produced one of the most electrifying debut performances of all time.
“Not everybody possesses the pace he [Mayank] possesses. Very impressive, his action is pretty good and he hits those lengths very well. Wonderful run-up as well. A lovely talent, that’s what IPL showcases. Great to see a young bowler unearth himself tonight.”
Punjab’s batters, even the experienced ones, were noticeably put-off by Mayank’s raw pace. Bangar said that his side were taken aback by the element of surprise that young Mayank brought to the table.
“When there is an element of surprise, when you’ve not seen the bowler previously, as a batter you can get hurried sometimes. But once you play a certain bowler, you’ll get a rough idea about what his action is, how the ball is leaving his hand etc. There is of course video footage, but playing in the middle is a different challenge altogether.”
The defeat means that PBKS have now lost consecutive games. They have three days off before taking on Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on April 4 (Thursday).