On April 11, when the Punjab Kings began their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with a mammoth 221/6 against the Rajasthan Royals, their fans would understandably have imagined that their batting would have been a major asset. They faltered badly in their second game against the Chennai Super Kings, scoring a disappointing 106/8 off their 20 overs, but faith would have been somewhat restored when they scored 195 in the game against Delhi Capitals that followed.
In truth, they ought to have scored more in that game. The Capitals, after all, easily overtook the target with 10 deliveries to spare. Yet 195, under normal circumstances, is a sizeable total that most teams would have felt reasonably comfortable in setting for the opposition to chase.
However, as the tournament has progressed, Punjab’s batting has become a major letdown. The 221 against the Royals was the tournament’s highest score by a team batting first, and the 195 against the Capitals was the fourth highest. Significantly, however, Punjab went on to make the three lowest totals by a team batting first: 106 against the Chennai Super Kings, 120 versus Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the 123 they compiled against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Monday’s game.
The KL Rahul-led side have moved from blowing hot to very cold, and it is therefore no wonder that this kind of inconsistency has left them currently tottering at sixth in the standings, with only Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Rajasthan Royals sitting below them. Both teams, however, have played five games to their six.
Asked to bat first in Monday’s game in Ahmedabad, it was obvious from early in the piece that scoring rapidly was going to be problematic. In his post-match interview, Rahul indicated that it was a new pitch from which the ball did not rush on to the bat. It also bounced inconsistently on occasion and was two-paced. According to the elegant right-hander, “it was a poor performance from us. We should have adapted better on a new pitch, we could have applied a lot more with the bat and get that extra 20-30 runs.”
Rahul himself fell to a ball that appeared to bounce more than he anticipated, leading to a skied catch at mid-off after achieving significant elevation but inadequate distance. It was the kind of big drive that he should have been reticent in playing given the conditions. As he said, 30 runs more could have made a difference.
Chris Gayle, who made two reasonably good scores in six attempts so far this season, fell first ball, driving away from his body. Deepak Hooda reached out to drive another delivery that seemed to bounce on him, was not in control, and offered a catch to captain Eoin Morgan at backward point.
Mayank Agarwal, supposedly a mainstay of Punjab’s batting, pulled a short ball from Narine, arguably the worst ball he delivered during his four overs, off the middle of his bat but within the reach of Rahul Tripathi stationed at square leg.
Moises Henriques was bowled by a very decent delivery from Narine, one which the bowler achieved a fair degree of turn. But as batting legend Sunil Gavaskar declared on commentary, he “left a gap between bat and pad through which an elephant could have gone."
We fought hard with the ball, but wasn't our day 😪#SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #IPL2021 #PBKSvKKR pic.twitter.com/w7mxAI8jdt
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 26, 2021
In the four innings in which he batted prior to the KKR game, West Indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran fell without scoring on three occasions. He is a compelling player with rare ability and the Punjab fans would have been expecting much from him. He could well fulfill their expectations before the season is out, but when he was 19, with his side in deep trouble, he made an almighty swing at a ball from leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy, missed, and lost his off stump. His team was 79/6.
The heart of Punjab’s batting was therefore lost with the score well under a hundred. And it was only some good hitting from Chris Jordan, in at number eight and playing his first game of the tournament, that enabled Punjab to limp to their paltry 123. Despite KKR having difficulties of their own in coping with the conditions, the total was just not enough.
One realises, of course, that this is T20 cricket and teams usually have to go hell for leather from the start if they want to push their score out of the reach of the opposition. But there are times when a bit of circumspection is required, someone, perhaps, to anchor the innings, allowing the others to go hard at the bowling. Captain Morgan did that for KKR. Punjab, on the other hand, could find no one to fill that role.
Nobody would claim that Punjab have the best batting unit in the competition. But in Rahul, Agarwal, Gayle, Hooda, and Pooran, they have a line of batsmen capable of doing serious damage, if the mood takes them, to even the best bowling attacks. Their problem is that the mood has not taken them often enough this season. And so unless they are able to show more consistency in their batting, they will have to get used to hanging around at or near the bottom of the standings.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/3sXUGP4
No comments:
Post a Comment