IPL 2022 | PBKS vs CSK - Under-performer of the Match

Punjab Kings (PBKS) locked horns with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Match 11 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. In the extravaganza, Punjab put a total of 180 runs on the board in 20 overs. However, the score looked 20-30 runs short of what they could have achieved at the halfway stage. 

But Chennai made a mess of their chase as they were 36 for five down in the eighth over of the innings. At that stage, MS Dhoni joined hands with Shivam Dube at the crease. The CSK fans would have hoped that the 'helicopter' would take off and help them register their first win in the tournament.

While Shivam Dube was brilliant with the bat playing a counter-attacking knock, MSD found it challenging to get going. Let's look at Shivam Dube's strike rates during the knock.

Dube came in to bat when the team's score was 23 for 4 in the sixth over of the innings. This is how he went about his innings from thereon. 

Shivam Dube Strike Rate vs PBKS

Now let us look at how MS Dhoni went about his knock

MS Dhoni Strike Rate vs PBKS

Observation: Dube was out under pressure as the required run rate kept increasing because of the lack of intent by Dhoni at the opposite end. When CSK needed about 14 runs per over, MS Dhoni batted with a strike rate of just 50. He left it too deep and late. Intent came from MSD when the match was out of hand, with the required run rate touching 20. Earlier, a pit of positive intent might have seen a different end to the game. This ordinary performance with the bat makes MS Dhoni our 'Under-performer of the Match'.

As we are talking about intent, there was one batting mounting that pleased everyone. While batting first in the match, PBKS lost two wickets very early; this was when Liam Livingstone walked out to bat. He smashed the CSK bowlers to all parts of the ground at will and changed the course of the game. His innings not only helped them off the relief of the early breakthrough, but it gave the cushion of not scoring at a brisk rate in the fag-end. 

Let us take a look at how he went about his innings.

Table: Liam Livingstone vs CSK

Observation: Livingstone walked out at a stage when his team was struggling. The counter-attacking brand of cricket changed the course of the gamin a matter of overs. The importance of his innings lies in the fact that PBKS completely lost momentum after his dismissal. The Kings scored just 77 runs in the final ten overs. If not for Livingstone, they would not have reached 180 runs. That was not just it; the Englishman picked up two crucial wickets of Dube and Dwayne Bravo and was gun at the field as well. His all-round performance earns him the 'Superstar of the Match'.