Punjab Kings eliminated from IPL 2022 Playoffs Race: What went wrong with PBKS, Stats

Mumbai, May 20: Punjab Kings’ journey in the IPL 2022 came to an end after Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Gujarat Titans on Thursday (May 19).

The win had elevated RCB to 4th on the table with 16 points and Rajasthan Royals also have 16 points. The Titans and Lucknow Super Giants have already qualified with 20 and 18 points respectively.

So, it is impossible for the PBKS under Mayank Agarwal to reach 16 points mark as they have only 12 points from 13 matches, and the maximum points they can reach now is 14.

They had assembled a very good squad from the auction, perhaps the most balanced among all the IPL teams. But still they failed to enter the playoffs as the bright spots limited to the performances of Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma and Kagiso Rabada.

What went wrong for them? Here is a closer look.

1 Captain Mayank’s poor form

Mayank Agarwal was expected to lead from the front after he was handed the captaincy role ahead of IPL 2022. But he never get going as an opener. He even tried to demote himself to the middle-order and get some runs but that move too backfired badly. He had his moments in the IPL 2022 as captain and came away as a leader with empathetic qualities. But PBKS needed more than that, especially run from his bat.

M: 12, Runs: 195, Avg: 17.72, SR: 125, 50: 1

2 Shahrukh Khan fails

There was a big bidding for this batsman from Tamil Nadu in the auction. It was justified too as Shahrukh Khan came up with a big reputation for long hits as he had shown in the domestic cricket. But the right-hander flopped badly and it affected the PBKS’ momentum in the middle overs and often ended up with totals below par.

M: 7, Runs: 98, Avg: 16.33, SR: 100.

3 Odean Smith flops

Odean Smith was taken as the foreign all-rounder but apart from a cameo of 25 that helped PBKS win a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, there was nothing to show in the IPL 2022 for the West Indian. Once Smith failed, the PBKS did not have anyone to fall back upon and had to use Liam Livingstone as all-rounder. In fact, Livingstone was better than Smith on all counts.

M: 6, Runs: 51, Avg: 17, SR: 115.90, Wkts: 6, Eco: 11.86

4 PBKS’ Indian bowlers fail to impress

Punjab Kings had retained left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh and bought leg-spinner Rahul Chahar with great expectations. But in the IPL 2022, they struggled to make an impact for the PBKS. They were alright in terms of economy but the wickets column needed a lot more representation. In 13 matches, Chahar and Arshdeep together took 24 wickets but Kagiso Rabada alone bagged 22 wickets in 12 matches. Others likes experienced Sandeep Sharma too failed to contribute as Rabada waged a lone battle for the PBKS.

Arshdeep: M: 13, Wkts: 10, Eco: 7.82

Rahul Chahar: M: 13, Wkts: 14; Eco: 7.71

Sandeep Sharma: M: 5, Wkts: 2, Eco: 7.65.

Harpreet Brar: M: 4, Wkts: 1, Eco: 10.

5 Rajapaksa - Bairstow confusion

Since Jonny Bairstow joined the squad a tad late into the IPL 2022, PBKS used Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the top order. The Sri Lankan looked the part too but once Bairstow returned he was replaced. But it took a few matches for the Englishman to get going and by the time the PBKS had slipped into a tight spot.

PBKS later found a way to accommodate both Rajapaksa and Bairstow in the 11. But by then the Lankan batter seemed to have lost a bit of edge.

Rajapaksa: M: 9, Runs: 206, Avg: 22.88, SR: 159.86

Bairstow: M: 10, Runs: 230, Avg: 23, SR: 143.75