TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsShikhar Dhawan is perhaps the most relaxed cricketer to have had a long career in Indian cricket. When it comes to enjoying the sport and playing for the sheer love of it, he transcends even Virender Sehwag even when the backs are against the wall. But looking at how he is leading Punjab Kings this season, one would be hard-pressed not to ask whether he even deserves it.
What prompted him to throw the ball to Harpreet Brar to bowl the last over against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday (May 17) when Arshdeep Singh had two overs pending can never be comprehended with any certainty. But the concern for Punjab is this has become a kind of pattern for them.
From not having Sikandar Raza against a left-handed dominant KKR side to using Harpreet Brar in a really haphazard manner in the middle overs, Dhawan’s tactical nous needs a reboot. Punjab can only hope that it doesn’t cost them against Rajasthan Royals on Friday, as they still have a mathematical chance to make it to the playoffs if other results go their way.
Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, have no one but to themselves to blame for the situation they have found themselves in. At one point, they represented the very best of IPL but the rookie crumbled to provide a rather inorganic growth base. When Jos Buttler is having four ducks to his name already in one season of IPL, you could understand how difficult things have been for the inaugural edition champions.
Things to watch out for
Prabhsimran Singh blows hot and cold
0, 4, 46, 26, 9, 42, 9, 12, 103, and 22. Besides three good knocks, Prabhsimran can’t really claim to have a season that would be noticed by anyone. His spin game has been so good this season, as the Punjab opener has only been dismissed twice against spinners and scored at an outstanding rate. In fact, his name pops up amongst the best balls-per-boundary and highest boundary percentage against spinners this season.
Pacers, on the other hand, have troubled him too much by getting the better of him 11 times. He has been dismissed seven times to incoming deliveries bowled by pacers and nine times against deliveries that bowled towards the stump line or bowled into his body line by pacers. That would make Rajasthan pacers, especially Sandeep Sharma and Trent Boult, interested.
PBKS spinners need to pull up their socks
Punjab Kings haven’t really made any strides this year with the ball, especially their spinners, who have completely gone AWOL. Harpreet Brar conceding 23 runs in the final over against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday was the indicator of the same. As a matter of fact, Punjab have the joint least number of wickets for spinners this season while having the second-highest economy, highest average and highest strike rate in this season. That doesn’t paint a rosy picture, does it?
To make matters worse, no PBKS spinner has an average of less than 30 and has a strike rate of less than 20 except Harpreet Brar this season. So bad has their star spinner Rahul Chahar this season that he has the highest strike rate among spinners in IPL 2023. Doesn’t that explain the kind of season they have had? If they are to wish for a road back, a complete performance is the only way to go.
Rajasthan’s powerplay struggles
When Rajasthan Royals won four of their first five matches of the season, they achieved it on the back of a complete all-round performance. But things changed rapidly in the next eight matches, in which they won just two and lost six matches. They are now in a position where they need to win their last match to stand a chance to qualify for the playoffs.
The drop in performance in the powerplay has contributed massively to the loss. In their first five matches, they took eight wickets and went wicketless just once at the phase but in their last eight matches, they have taken just seven wickets and haven't been able to dismiss a batter in three of these matches. They have lost all of the matches where they have gone wicketless in the powerplay.
One could point out that the overreliance on Trent Boult has been a big factor, but Sandeep Sharma, who is considered as one of the best new-ball bowlers in the IPL history, hasn’t delivered much as well. They need to change that fortune in order to have a crack at the long road to the playoffs.
Tactical Nous
>> Arshdeep Singh’s performance against LHB is better than against RHB this season as he has taken 10 out of 16 wickets against LHB at an SR of just 10.1 this season. Arshdeep and Rashid Khan are the only two bowlers to take 10-plus wickets against LHB this season. So it will be an interesting battle between Arshdeep and Rajasthan Royals left-handed batters.
>> Shikhar Dhawan will be taking on the spin duo of Chahal and Ashwin, who have managed to dismiss the batter on a total of six occasions in the IPL. While the batter has been still fast in scoring against Chahal, he has struggled to score freely against Ashwin.
>> Buttler has scored almost 85% of his runs while batting first this season and along with his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal, is amongst the highest run-getters in first innings this season.
Ground Details
The small boundaries at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Stadium in Dharamshala along with the dew factor has more often than not encouraged the captains to chase at the venue. The teams have chosen to bowl first 10 times in 13 T20s since 2017. Moreover, chasing teams have emerged victorious on 8 occasions.
In T20s played at the venue since 2017, the average first innings score stands at a meagre 141, despite the small boundaries at the stadium. However, in two T20Is, the average score has been 165 which is still decent. Pacers have taken more wickets at a better strike rate than spinners in T20s since 2017. Two T20Is were played at this venue since 2020 and pacers have taken more wickets than spinners in these two matches at a better strike rate. Spinners have been more economical at this venue.
This venue often used to act as a second home venue for Punjab Kings in IPL till 2013, where the franchise has played 10 matches and has a win % of 50%.
Probable XIs
Punjab Kings : Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals : Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Joe Root, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal (Batting Impact Sub)
