After an inconsistent first half, Punjab Kings will look to pull up their socks and produce a string of solid performances, victories during the all-important UAE leg of the Indian Premier League 2021.
The Punjab franchise has gone through a name transformation – from Kings XI Punjab till last year to Punjab Kings now – but that has not quite resulted in a change of fortunes for the team. They are still being held back by a variety of issues in both departments of the game.
PBKS once again find themselves in the bottom half of the points table at the halfway mark. KL Rahul & company are sixth in the standings ahead of the resumption of IPL 2021, with three wins and five defeats from eight matches.
Heavily dependent on their top-order – featuring Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle and skipper Rahul – to cover up for their inexperienced middle-order and unsettled, hardly robust bowling unit, PBKS have had another difficult campaign so far.
And what has enhanced their problems are the form issues faced by Gayle and Nicholas Pooran as well as their questionable team selection, including leaving out their one big positive of the last season, wrist-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, for the first few matches.
Once Bishnoi got back in the side, he picked up four wickets from as many matches while conceding just 6.18 runs per over.
Gayle has made 178 runs from his eight innings with an average of 25.42 and strike-rate of 133.83. Pooran has only gone worse, with the opposition teams targeting him via pace and bounce, scoring only 28 runs from his six innings in the competition so far.
These two key players’ dip and struggles have meant that, even though Rahul and Mayank have been performing consistently, PBKS’ young middle-order has had to take the heavy load, and their bowling line-up hasn’t had the cushion of runs they require.
With no gun T20I seamer up their sleeves, PBKS have depended massively on the likes of Mohammed Shami and Chris Jordan to help them cover up bases. But the two experienced pacers have had an economy rate of 8.16 and 8.44, respectively, in the tournament. Their latest overseas pace recruit, Riley Meredith, has been even more expensive, carrying an economy rate of 9.94.
Even young Arshdeep Singh, who was, along with Bishnoi, one of the plusses for Punjab despite another unsuccessful season last year, hasn’t been at his best this year: six matches, seven wickets at 8.18 runs per over.
So there are, indeed, quite a few holes for PBKS think-tank to cover-up if they are to stay in the race for playoffs. And they’ll possibly look at the latter half of their IPL 2020 campaign for some inspiration. Standing even more vulnerably than this at the halfway mark, the Punjab franchise came one win short of securing a top 4 berth.
But for such a turnaround, they’ll need to stitch together a string of consistent performances against opposition teams who, while carrying certain weaknesses of their own, certainly pose a stronger outlook than they do.
As far as predictions go, PBKS look likely to miss out on the playoffs again, with deeper, all-around issues set to continue holding them back. If they are to really change their fortunes in IPL cricket and clinch that trophy, it’s not the name of the team they need to change but their thought process and personnel, especially in the bowling department.
PBKS resume their campaign on September 21 in Dubai against Rajasthan Royals.
