PBKS vs GT, what caught our eye: Prabhsimran fills in at the start, Harpreet never gets going; Punjab flounder as Ashutosh-Shashank can’t rescue one more time

Tewatia ends Punjab’s pain

This wasn’t the slugfest that would have made your Sunday. It was far from it as Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans battled out in a contest, where both were far from their best. What should have been a routine chase, was made complicated by Gujarat’s misfiring batting unit. As one after the other kept leaving the job for others, it appeared as if Punjab were winning a game out of nowhere. But enter Rahul Tewatia. He came in a hurry to put an end card to this game at the earliest and he succeeded fully.

Rahul Tewatia the man again who is at the finishing line guiding them home 😎

Gujarat Titans have come up on 🔝 in Mullanpur with a clinical performance and have settled their scores with #PBKS 🙌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/avVO2pCwJO#TATAIPL | #PBKSvGT | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/h8BiuB7UVT

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 21, 2024

Not really missing

The absence of Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow at the top could be a blessing in disguise for Punjab Kings. With Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh and Jitesh Sharma capable of providing fireworks in the middle-order and being in-form players, Punjab have been able to push Sam Curran and Prabhsimran Singh to the top. They aren’t the tallest, but are very effective T20 batsmen, who can tear apart attacks. It is what Prabhsimran did with aplomb in the powerplay, giving Punjab the kind of start they desperately needed. It was an evening where he again didn’t convert the head start he had, but three sixes and as many boundaries was good enough for Gujarat Titans to use Rashid Khan in the powerplay.

Five star reviews or bad umpiring

Some of the DRS referrals have been driven purely out of desperation this IPL. There have also been cases where teams have wasted an opportunity to review. But rarely has a team got things absolutely right. When Gujarat Titans sent a not out decision against Rilee Rossouw off Noor Ahmad upstairs, it looked a bold call. But within seconds, it would end up proving an excellent call as it was as plumb as it could get as it put another on-field call under the lens. Then in the next over, as the umpire turned down a LBW call against Curran off Rashid Khan, Gujarat sought a referral. And it turned out to be another error from the on-field umpire as Gujarat broke Punjab’s back.

Lightweight Kings

It speaks of the lack of firepower in the Punjab Kings top order that stand-in skipper Sam Curran had to step into the opener’s slot for the game against Gujarat Titans. His partner Prabhsimran Singh is enterprising but won’t scare too many bowling attacks. He had some joy against the quicker bowlers, but it was never going to last long. Not that Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow were setting the world on fire. Their foreign batting recruits Rilee Rossouw and Liam Livingstone are yet to win them any games, and the English and South African players were found wanting against the wiles of Afghan wrist-spinners Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan. Punjab Kings’ best players are their designated finishers Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh, but with their top order hardly giving them any sort of platform, their batting exploits, more often than not, go in vain. Some teams are in the wrong half of the table due to underperformance, Punjab Kings don’t seem to have the resources and often seem overmatched in terms of firepower.

Uninspiring performance

After their one-run heartbreak at Eden Gardens, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have fallen out of playoff contention, for all intents and purposes. Punjab Kings seem to be going in the same direction. Their top-order batting is devoid of inspiration. Indian batsmen are considered to be good players of spin; the fact that Punjab Kings don’t have any marquee local batting talent at the top is hurting them big time. It puts all the onus on their foreign recruits, who are not having a great time with the bat, and the finisher duo of Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh. But it’s not possible for them to perform the rescue act every time, as was seen at Mullanpur on Sunday. The fact that there don’t seem to be too many viable options on the bench to turn things around point to a botched job at the auction table as well. The franchise seems to be in a perennial restructuring and rebooting process, which never gives a settled and strong impression. Gujarat Titans, who were blown away by Delhi Capitals – another bottom half team – in their last game – were made to look quite impressive by the shoddy hosts.

All sorts superb bowling

Left-arm wrist-spinner, right-arm wrist-spinner, left-arm orthodox, right-arm off-spin….this was Gujarat’s spin combination for the day. And it was these four, who inflicted all the damage on Punjab Kings. Such variety in the ranks means, it becomes a nightmare for any batting unit to neutralize match-ups. And the worst part was, after Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan, Punjab had no respite as Sai Kishore came on and took four wickets.

Self-belief or inexplicable move?

A glimpse into the muddled thinking among the Punjab Kings line-up could be seen by the inexplicable decision by Harpreet Singh turning down singles in the 20th over. He was the designated Impact Player after the hosts’ batting order crumbled against what could be described as some disciplined bowling from Gujarat Titans. But Harpreet wasn’t making any desired impact for his team. He was 12 from 15 going into the final over with Punjab Kings eight down. They were soon nine down with Harshal Patel caught at the boundary. Last man Kagiso Rabada has been known for a few big hits in his time. On the other hand, Harpreet hadn’t managed to find the boundary even once. What he was thinking when he turned down singles on the fourth and fifth balls of the 20th over bowled by Mohit Sharma only Harpreet would know. If he had some immense self-belief of hitting the final ball into the stands, it didn’t come to fruition. It was mistimed to the onside and Harpreet was run out coming back for the second run after scoring a 19-ball 14.

Spins them both ways

Liam Livingstone is what you call a complete T20 package. A power-hitter with the bat, who can hit the ball long and clean in the V. Even with the ball, he is a tempting option for a captain. Can bowl off-spin as well as leg-spin depending on who is on strike and the conditions. Here, with Gujarat going carefully in the chase, he provided two breakthroughs. First up he removed Shubman Gill with a nicely tossed up leg-spin. With no pace on it, it is a delivery, many batsmen have fallen prey to and Gill was no exception. Then later on in his third over, he removed David Miller with his off-spin, with the ball skidding on. Out of nowhere on a sluggish pitch and with big boundaries in play, Livingstone got Punjab going.

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