Let down by below-par batting in their recent twin defeats, Punjab Kings will want their batters to improve their dot-ball count when they take on a rampaging Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL here on Saturday.
After a flying start to the new season with two wins, Punjab endured two back-to-back losses following their failure to post good totals on the board.
If skipper Shikhar Dhawan was left to carry the team on his shoulders against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the day he failed the other batters could only manage 153 for 8 against Gujarat Titans, mainly because of Shahrukh Khan's nine-ball 22.
The main reason behind PBKS's underwhelming total was their failure to push the scoring in the middle overs between 10 and 15. They ended up playing 56 dot balls, an area where the team will have to get better.
"We did not put many runs on the board. We have to rectify that thing going forward. If you see the number of dot balls, if a team plays 56 balls, you end up losing the game," Dhawan had said after the loss.
With scores of 40, 86 not out and 99 not out in his first three innings, Dhawan remains undoubtedly Punjab's most impactful player but it is the inconsistency of the other batters that is a reason for worry.
Young opening partner Prabhsimran Singh exploded in the opening match but has failed since, whereas the other batters -- Matthew Short and Jitesh Sharma, have not been able to consolidate on their starts.
While the batters disappointed, the bowling unit, led by young Arshdeep Singh, has looked in fine fettle.
It was Arshdeep and England's Sam Curran, who took the game to the last ball while defending a modest total on a belter of a wicket before Rahul Tewatia intervened on Thursday.
Among spinners, Harpreet Brar has used his resources well, while Rahul Chahar remains a wily customer but to be fair to the bowlers, they just didn't have enough runs to play with.
The Super Giants, on the other hand, have won their last two games, and another win on Saturday will take them to the top spot in the IPL standing.
While skipper KL Rahul has struggled with his strike-rate so far, the Super Giants have found new heroes to take the team home.
If Krunal Pandya produced an all-round show against Sunrisers, West Indian Nicholas Pooran's breath-taking 19-ball 62 helped them to chase down a difficult 212 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last match.
LSG has a balanced batting line-up with opener Kyle Mayers producing the goods in the first two matches, while the lower middle order comprising Marcus Stoinis, Pooran and Ayush Badoni has shown the other day they can win crunch games.
However, Deepak Hooda has failed so far.
Losing three wickets in powerplay almost jeopardised their chase against RCB and LSG will hope it was just an aberration.
Among bowlers, they have a good mix of pace and spin. While Mark Wood and Avesh Khan have looked good, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, veteran leggie Amit Mishra and Krunal Pandya have also shone in their respective roles.
Squad (From)
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Harpreet Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Prabhsimran Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, M Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Singh, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Atharva Taide.
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c and wk), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Amit Mishra, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Naveen ul Haq, Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Karan Sharma, Yudhvir Charak, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Mark Wood, Swapnil Singh, Manan Vohra, Daniel Sams, Prerak Mankad, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jaydev Unadkat, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav.
