Punjab Kings head coach Sanjay Bangar has singled out his team’s poor performance at home this season as the main reason behind the poor campaign in IPL 2024.
PBKS ended their campaign with a 4-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last league game on Sunday (May 19). In the absence of some big names, PBKS did well to post a big total of 214/5 in the allotted 20 overs. However, their bowlers failed to complement the batters’ efforts as SRH chased down the total with ease.
PBKS finished at the ninth spot in the points table with just five wins from 14 games as their wait to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2014 has been extended by one more year. Speaking to the media after the game against SRH, Bangar stated that the failure to do well in the home games hurt the team. While PBKS won four away games, they could manage to win just 1 at home.
“We could not adapt to the home conditions. We won four out of the seven away matches but out of the seven home matches we just managed to win one. So, if a team has to progress in a tournament, certainly that is a worrying aspect,” Bangar said.
“The four games we lost back-to-back through mid season, all of them home matches, and the two close games we lost, hurt us. In some matches which went down the wire, we could not win the crucial moments. If you leave so many things to be done in the later half of the season then it’s always a challenge,” he added.
Sanjay Bangar on the positives from the season:
While PBKS did not really have too many positives from the disappointing season, Sanjay Bangar pointed out that the performance of the domestic players such as Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma was one of the positives.
“If you look at the performances of the domestic batsmen Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, those are the real positives for us as far as our season goes in the batting department,” said the former India allrounder.
Shashank finished the season as PBKS’ highest run-scorer, scoring 354 runs with the help of two fifties. On the other hand, Prabhsimran scored 334 runs and was the second-highest run-scorer of the season while Ashutosh impressed one and all with his power-hitting abilities.
Bangar also rued the loss of key players such as Liam Livingstone and Kagiso Rabada at the end of the season.
“When we went to the auction, the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) had made it clear that all the players will be available. It is just that it so happens that the tournament got slightly extended, I would say, because of multiple reasons. Everybody were in a similar position but we lost those English players,” he said.
“For us, even losing Livingstone with a niggle around his knee, the ECB pulling him out. Even KG (Kagiso Rabada) had an infection and he had to go back (to South Africa). Those things coupled together meant that when we came to the last two matches, we were short of players of international pedigree and experience.
“That hurt us but that is not the sole reason why our season was below par,” added Bangar.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have booked their place in the playoffs of IPL 2024.
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