IPL 2024, LSG vs PBKS - 3 Things That Went Wrong For PBKS

Punjab Kings lost theri match against LSG [iplt20.com]Punjab Kings lost theri match against LSG [iplt20.com]

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) opened their winning account in 2024 Indian Premier League by outclassing Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 21 runs in match 11 of the tournament. Winning the toss, stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran batted first and posted 199 runs on the back of Quinton de Kock, himself and Krunal Pandya’s forty-plus scores. While the Kings were well in the chase halfway through the second innings, Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan’s brilliant bowling spells helped LSG curtail PBKS 21 runs short in the end.

We shall have a look at the three major factors that affected the Kings in their second defeat of the competition.


NickyP’s warm presence

When the LSG scorecard read 78/3 in 8.4 overs, the contest was evenly poised, the Punjab Kings managed to exert further pressure with Harshal Patel and Kagiso Rabada conceding just eight and seven runs each in the next couple of overs. However, the move to bring a wrist spinner against two left-handers changed the complexion of the game.

Chahar who was already spanked for back-to-back sixes in his previous over by Marcus Stoinis was teed apart by Pooran in the twelfth over. Wrist Spinners are regarded as weak match-ups against left-handed batters and it proved out to be true when the PBKS spinner leaked 20 runs off the over including two sixes and a four in the first three balls itself. This helped the new batter settle and accelerate further that turned the tables in favour of LSG.

Shikhar Dhawan’s retardation

After a couple of overs in the chase, PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan was seen batting at 8 off ten deliveries. Although he converted it into a 30-ball fifty as the game progressed, the veteran failed to accelerate further in the second half of the game.

In a big chase in T20 cricket, often a set-batter is supposed to regulate one end of the game and switch gears to curtail the required down. The reward only betters if it's a captain leading his side from the front. But in the case of Shikhar Dhawan’s 50-ball 70, the turn of events was completely different.

Dhawan scored his first fifty runs in 30 balls while scoring the last 20 runs in as many deliveries. They were 98/0 in ten overs but a span of struggle in the middle meant Jonny Bairstow losing his wicket in an attempt to up the ante. And eventually, Dhawan added to the woes rather than easing the pressure as a set batter, thereby leading to his team’s misery after getting out at a crucial juncture.


Out of the syllabus Mayank Yadav

Very few Indian batters are good against raw pace. Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma didn't look like one of them today. Both batters fell cheaply against Mayank Yadav who was dishing bullets on his debut game against PBKS on Saturday. 

The Punjab Kings batters seemed to score freely until the introduction of Mayank who snatched the ball from the visitors’ court in the second half of the chase by scalping a three-fer and rushing the PBKS top and middle order with pace. Eventually, it complemented the other bowlers to cut out the defense perfectly and earn their maiden win of IPL 2024.