POINTS TABLE | ACCESSORIES
Languishing at the bottom of the table a week ago, the Punjab unit, led by KL Rahul And his inspired hitting has shown teeth lately in every department to reckon with.
In his column for The Times of India on Thursday, prominent cricket expert and commentator Harsha Bhogle He listed the reasons that have made the Punjab the “dangerous” team they always promised to be.
“Now you can see why they were considered a dangerous team at the beginning of the tournament,” Bhogle wrote. “Chris Gayle has led the resurgence by offering a solid follow-up to the excellent opening combination and letting the ridiculously talented (Nicholas) Pooran play free.
“When you have those two, the opposition is always worried, especially if Pooran is free to play the game-winner with the bat.”
Gayle turned half a century to announce her late arrival at the IPL After a sickness and Pooran’s fifty against Delhi in the last KXIP game, they rounded out the team’s three wins on the rebound to move up to their current fifth position in the points table.
Punjab has eight points from four wins in its 10 games, with four more to play.
Bhogle added two more “areas of interest”, which have helped Punjab get those victories that were narrowly missed in the first half of the season.
“There are two other areas of interest: one that they have managed well and one that they have benefited from. Let’s look at the second one first: Mohammed Shami.
“Some of his bowling finals have been on par with the best in the world, and defending five in a Super Over (against the Mumbai Indians) is a legend. (Jasprit) Bumrah and Shami in that Super Over being one of the highlights of this tournament, “Bhogle acknowledged, before mentioning the second reason.
“They’ve also handled (Glenn) Maxwell wonderfully. We’re talking about an extraordinary T20 cricketer who sometimes slides on Russian roulette. You don’t know if he’ll shoot a bullet or a target. Most teams would have dropped him at by now, “he added.
Maxwell had a forgettable tournament until his four over 1/31 spell followed by a 32 of 24 balls against Delhi.
“(KXIP) I offered him a Powerplay bowling option (against Delhi). I always rated his ability to throw quick jumps from the wicket and with that string in his bow working his confidence has started to return. I won’t be surprised if he offers soon a winning performance with the bat, “wrote Bhogle.
He then completed his opinion by highlighting one last missing link in the Punjab armory.
“If they can find a balanced lineup that allows them to play another fast pitcher with Shami, I think it would complete the team. They are struggling with that and therefore they are choosing to beef up the hitting with Jimmy Neesham, an exquisite forward, but more of a hitter than pitcher.
“This resurgence of Punjab has been excellent for the tournament that ran the risk of the four best teams being separated from the rest,” concluded Bhogle.
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