IPL 2022: Punjab Kings’ batting approach goes from boom to bust – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

For a team beset with problems, Delhi Capitals were in a hurry on Wednesday evening. While the pandemic has been around for a while now, it isn’t easy when the virus breaches the bio-bubble. Four members of the support staff, plus two active team members, one of whom tested positive as late as two hours before the game – it was a wonder Delhi Capitals’ squad was even in the mindset to play, let alone record a thumping win.

Perhaps it is to do with having someone like Ricky Ponting in their corner. When it comes to mentality, nothing beats these Australian cricketers, especially the ones who dominated world cricket for decades. You just have to look at how Kuldeep Yadav has fared this season so far, and it is but a microcosm of the mind-job a battle-hardened coach like Ponting can do.

Of course, the coach’s words are said and heard beyond the boundary. Within those ropes, the players still have to execute plans and that’s where Delhi Capitals proved to be flawless. Hampered by COVID-19, it might have started the game as underdogs but finished as roaring lions, like the one emblazoned on that beautiful red-blue jersey.

Punjab Kings were bowled out for just 115 as Delhi Capitals won by nine wickets. Image: Sportzpics for IPL

When Lalit Yadav picks 2-11 in two overs, you know it’s your day. This isn’t to undermine him as a bowler, no, for Capitals don’t depend on his bowling wares. Instead, it just goes to show that their collective plans worked against the unpredictable Punjab Kings. Only Shardul Thakur experienced an off night, conceding 20 runs in two overs, but that was a small price to pay for the opposition stumbling over 95 runs in 18 overs.

In fact, Liam Livingstone’s dismissal encapsulates how well Delhi planned and executed their strategy on the night. With a strike rate of 185.12 going into this game, the Englishman was Punjab’s most ferocious batsman. His strength is to simply tee off, targeting the midwicket region in particular. Delhi needed someone direct to counter him, and Axar Patel was the man.

Luckily, Livingstone was at the crease as early as the fifth over. So, Delhi gambled and brought on Axar in the final powerplay over. With only two fielders outside the circle, Livingstone obviously took the bait and went big, but missed. Axar bowled short and flat, and with pace, and Livingstone was stumped miles off his crease. This was game, set and match for Delhi Capitals.

For the Kings, meanwhile, things are going from boom to bust. Sample this. In three out of seven matches thus far, Punjab have recorded high scores of 208-5, 180-8, 189-9 and 198-5. Alternately, in three other games, they have been bowled out for 137, 151 and 115. It is a risky batting strategy – hit, hit and simply hit. If it works, good enough. If it doesn’t, well, there’s always the next game to try.

It has resulted in a campaign that is simply not generating any winning momentum for the Punjab Kings. Victory is followed by defeat, in alternate matches, and thus, you cannot really say if this is a team on the rise or just flailing about in the mid-order. Further, sample the following.

On one hand, Punjab boasts of the best strike rate in the powerplay – 9-plus per over. At the same time, corresponding to the aforementioned scores, its powerplay scores are as follows – 63/0, 62/3, 72/2, 43/2, 65/0, 48/2 and 47/3. While the loss of more wickets corresponds to lower overall scores, even when Punjab scores high, there was a propensity to lose more wickets in the powerplay overs.

A common thread of those initial games was Sri Lankan batsman Bhanuka Rajpaksa. He brought a seat-of-the-pants style hitting to the IPL, reminiscent of the way Sanath Jayasuriya attacked ODI bowling in the mid-nineties. He might have only scored 83 runs in three games, but Rajpaksa’s strike rate was a sensational 230.55. In fact, it is the highest strike rate among top-order batsmen in IPL 2022.

Why isn’t he in the Punjab first-choice eleven then? Rajpaksa was always a stand-in option until Jonny Bairstow arrived, and this is exactly what has played out. What Punjab perhaps didn’t anticipate was how Rajpaksa would storm the IPL with his power hitting, and that Odean Smith’s bowling would create a balance problem in its playing eleven. Bairstow has only managed 41 runs in four innings at a paltry strike rate of 105.12, and Smith has faltered in death overs, so this has been bad selection call from Punjab.

In turn, this has fuelled a greater top-order dependency for Punjab than it would have liked. Along with Livingstone’s 226 runs, Shikhar Dhawan has scored 214 and Mayank Agarwal has scored 118, for a total of 558 runs for the trio across seven games. That accounts for 47.3 per cent of Punjab Kings’ total runs in the IPL so far.

Getting Dhawan to replace KL Rahul at the top was a coup at the IPL auctions. In terms of sheer consistency, there are few openers in this tournament like Dhawan and he gels well with Agarwal at the top. But somehow, the Punjab think-tank has managed to translate this aspect into top-order over-dependency, mirroring what Dhawan did for his previous franchises Delhi and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Despite boasting of the likes of Livingstone, Rajpaksa and Bairstow, Punjab has not been able to find consistency in its batting prowess.

With a win and a defeat in every alternate game thus far, Punjab has exhibited a Jekyll-and-Hyde trait to its game plan. The short span of a T20 innings can trick teams into over-dependency on a select few batsmen, leaning heavily on a set gameplan, and Punjab is suffering from this malaise. If the openers fire, all is good. If Livingtone fires, that is even better. What happens otherwise? There is no particular identity with its batting line-up, it is either boom or bust, and there is a lack of contingency even.

With the likes of Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants setting the pace, and, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings sinking, Punjab had a real chance to make an impression with some quality batsmen at its disposal. It has failed to do in the first half of this IPL season.

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