Punjab Kings’ campaign has taken a dramatic downturn after a dominant start to the season. The side that looked unstoppable in the first half, remaining unbeaten with six wins and a draw, has now slipped into a worrying five-match losing streak. Their momentum has completely vanished at the business end of the tournament, putting their playoff hopes in serious danger. To make matters worse, qualification is no longer entirely in their hands. Even if Punjab manage to beat Lucknow Super Giants in their final league clash on Saturday, they will still have to depend on the outcomes of Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders matches to stay alive in the playoff race. What once seemed like a comfortable top-four finish has now turned into a tense wait for favourable results elsewhere.
Veteran India opener Virender Sehwag, who has previously played and coached for Punjab, compared PBKS’ situation to CSK and said the franchise had hit the axe on their own foot.
“PBKS have taken the axe from CSK, because in five of those seven matches, they struck themselves on the foot. They should have won atleast 2-3 of those. Some huge mistakes were made,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
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Meanwhile, former India batter Manoj Tiwary believes Punjab Kings need to rethink their bowling combination after a string of poor results, pointing to the inclusion of Lockie Ferguson as a turning point in their slump. He also backed Marco Jansen’s return to the playing XI while stressing that Arshdeep Singh must step up with stronger performances in the crucial phase of the tournament.
“I think Harpreet Brar will keep his position. But I think Marco Jansen should return in place of Lockie Ferguson, because he has played 2-3 matches and has proven to be expensive. When the change to bring on Lockie began, that is where PBKS began to lose momentum. Since then, Arshdeep Singh has also proven to be quite expensive. It is important for him to perform,” he said.
PBKS fate not in their own hands
Currently sitting fifth on the table, Punjab Kings must first overcome Lucknow Super Giants in their last league fixture on Saturday to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, victory alone may not be enough, as their qualification also hinges on results from Sunday’s double-header involving Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will be hoping both Mumbai and Kolkata stumble in their respective matches to open the door for a top-four finish.
