Punjab Kings looked like the team to beat in the opening half of the season. They remained unbeaten in their first seven games and held the top spot in the points table. The extent of their firepower was best reflected when they chased down a record 265 against the Delhi Capitals last month. But their unbeaten streak has come to a halt since the start of this month, with the side losing three games in a row. While bowling was identified as the major issue, the defeats also exposed a perennial problem that had gone largely unnoticed during the victories.
Punjab have a catch efficiency rate of 73.6 per cent, which is only better than Delhi Capitals (64) this season. They have dropped 15 catches overall, including three on Wednesday night at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium against Sunrisers Hyderabad, a costly lapse that contributed heavily to their 33-run defeat.
On the night PBKS slipped from the top spot, Shashank Singh — already responsible for five dropped catches this season — was not the only culprit. Lockie Ferguson and Cooper Connolly also grassed straightforward chances as SRH climbed to the top of the table.
After the disastrous fielding display, SRH wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, who had been dropped twice during the innings, brutally mocked PBKS in an Instagram post that read: “Catch me if you can.”
‘The biggest setback’
Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer did not mince words after the third straight defeat, calling the dropped catches “the biggest setback” and suggesting PBKS would have been chasing “30-40 runs fewer” had the chances been taken.
Ishan, who eventually scored a half-century, benefitted twice. The first reprieve came in the eighth over when he pulled Ferguson towards Connolly at deep square-leg. The second came in the 11th over when Ferguson himself misjudged a catch at fine leg. Kishan was on 9 off 9 balls when dropped the first time, and 18 off 14 the second. Heinrich Klaasen was another batter handed a lifeline, while PBKS also missed a stumping chance through wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh.
“It was very important for us to execute our plans and we did execute them. Unfortunately, catches were dropped and I think that hurt us,” PBKS spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said after the match.
“It was very important to take those catches because they are such players [Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen] that if you tend to drop catches, they will score — and score quickly.”
