The Kings who surrendered once again

Sam Curran led Punjab Kings from the front against Rajasthan Royals on May 16 (Wednesday), giving them their fifth win of the Indian Premier League 2024. However, they came into this game having already been knocked out of the playoffs race. They still have one game to go but all they could get to is 12 points.

Punjab, who haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2014, lost their regular skipper, Shikhar Dhawan, just after five matches. Not that he was in great form, but PBKS’ top-order struggled even more in his absence. They didn’t have a single overseas batter in form. Their bowlers were comparatively better, but that was never going to save them from another early exit. 

THE GOOD

Uncapped Shashank, Ashutosh impress with the bat

Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma were Punjab's biggest positives this season. Shashank emerged as the franchise's leading run-scorer, scoring 352 runs in 13 innings at an average of 50.29 and a strike rate of 166.8. Meanwhile, Ashutosh slammed 187 runs in eight innings at an average of 31.17 and a strike rate of 170.

With the top order failing regularly, these two saved Punjab from embarrassment on many occasions. Shashank, in particular, impressed everyone with his consistency.

Harshal amongst wickets

22 wickets in 13 innings at an average of 19.5 and an economy rate of 9.5 - Harshal Patel did what was expected of him. The right-arm seamer was never going to be economical. Punjab needed him to take wickets, and Harshal didn’t disappoint. 

At the end of Match 65, Harshal had the most wickets this season. Sixteen of those wickets came in the death overs, where he leaked runs at an economy of 10.6. Only twice in 13 innings did he go wicketless. Among bowlers who claimed at least 15 wickets, Harshal had the second-best strike rate (12.3).  

THE BAD

Arshdeep at death

Arshdeep Singh once again had a pretty ordinary tournament, taking 17 wickets in 13 innings at an average of 27.52 and an economy of 10.10. The left-arm seamer was one of the worst bowlers in the death overs, conceding runs at an economy of 12.3. 

Amongst bowlers who delivered at least 10 overs in this phase, Arshdeep had the sixth-worst economy. He was also hit for the second-most number of sixes (13) in the final phase. As a result, PBKS had the second-worst economy rate (11.6) at the death.

THE UGLY

Overseas batters not showing up

Jonny Bairstow (298 @ 29.8), Curran (270 @ 27), Rilee Rossouw (162 @ 23.14) and Liam Livingstone (111 @ 22.2) - not a single overseas batter with more than 300 runs. In fact, Punjab are the only franchise this season with not a single batter crossing the 400-run mark. 

PBKS’ batting unit failed to deliver big time, especially the top-order. Their top five had the worst average (25.3) and balls/wicket (17.9) and the second-worst scoring rate (8.5). Punjab lost four or more wickets in the first 10 overs in six games. Statistically, Punjab were the second-worst batting side after Gujarat Titans.  

Jitesh’s horrid season

After what he did in the last two seasons, many expected Jitesh Sharma to take his game to the next level. The wicketkeeper-batter, however, didn’t show up at all. 155 runs in 11 innings @ 14.09 - Jitesh didn’t cross the 30-run mark even once. 

His strike rate was just 122, compared to 159.2 in the last two editions. His average of 14.09 was the worst for any batter in IPL 2024 (at least 10 innings). Don’t be surprised if he is released before the mega auction.

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