Of the original eight in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Punjab Kings have the poorest record. There's nothing to write home about -- a third-place finish (2008) and a final (2014) appearance in 14 seasons. And now, they are struggling to keep pace as IPL 2022 hurtles through a busy mid-season.
Punjab Kings, with a very strong squad, were one of the pre-tournament favourites. The Mayank Agarwal-led side even started their IPL 2022 campaign with an enthralling five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. They chased down a target of 206 runs with an over to spare. That's like making some statement.
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But what followed were intermittent wins. For every win, there's a defeat. After nine matches, they are seventh in the ten-team IPL 2022 points table, with four wins. In the last outing, they failed to chase down Lucknow Super Giants' 153/8. A batting line-up featuring the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, etc. was could manage only 133/8.
Their bowling attack has also been found missing in action, most of the time.
This latest setback, their fifth defeat, has put Punjab Kings in a dire spot. They have five matches remaining in the league stage, and the maximum they can accumulate is 14 points. They will need to win each of the remaining fixtures to stand a realistic chance of making the IPL 2022 playoffs.
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Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals are already on 14 and 12 points respectively from eight matches each. Lucknow Super Giants have also 12 points from nine outings.
And if Gujarat Titans beat fifth-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, the debutants are sure to finish in the top four, leaving three spots for the other nine teams to fight for.
Here's how teams stand after match 42:
Punjab Kings' remaining fixtures: vs Gujarat Titans on May 3, vs Rajasthan Royals on May 7, vs Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 13, vs Delhi Capitals on May 16, vs Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 22.
After their 2014 IPL final defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings have never qualified for the playoffs. They finished sixth in the last three seasons.
Are they heading for another lowly finish?
Punjab Kings Squad: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Vaibhav Arora, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Prabhsimran Singh, Benny Howell, Baltej Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Prerak Mankad, Ishan Porel, Atharva Taide, Ansh Patel, Raj Bawa.
