The Punjab Kings suffered their seventh loss of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season on Monday. They failed to chase down 160 runs against the Delhi Capitals, and lost by 17 runs at the DY Patil Stadium.
Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal won the toss and opted to bowl first. They managed to restrict the Delhi Capitals to 159 runs in the first innings. Liam Livingstone and Arshdeep Singh got the batter of the Delhi batters. The duo took three wickets each.
In reply, the Punjab Kings scored 142 runs in 20 overs, with nine wickets down. Except for Jitesh Sharma’s 44, none of the other batters contributed any substantial score. Shardul Thakur won the Player of the Match for his 4/36 in four overs.
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) May 16, 2022
Punjab Kings’ chances to qualify for the playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2022 season have taken a hit following the loss. The fans vent their frustration on Punjab Kings coach Anil Kumble. Many believe that the former Indian cricketer has not been able to manage a good squad this season.
Let’s take a look at some of the tweets that were targeted at Anil Kumble following the Punjab Kings’ loss against the Delhi Capitals:
Kumble, the coach, will have a lot of explaining to do to the Punjab Kings management. They got the squad they wanted at the auction. And have still failed to make the play-offs. Came close two previous season, but this time, with a better team have performed even worse.
— Venkata Krishna B (@venkatatweets) May 16, 2022
@anilkumble1074 must step down, he must be taken to the cleaners by the management. Insiders told me that KL also left the club due to Jumbo's attitude and micro management. He was given the resources he asked for, he failed to deliver #KumbleOut
— Ankur Mukherjee (@ankur7498) May 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/ik_raj_phoenix/status/1526423722340405248?s=20&t=cvC3LaItiaotq9MPveTZGg
https://twitter.com/follow_to_karle/status/1526417103586152448?s=20&t=cvC3LaItiaotq9MPveTZGg
Coach @anilkumble1074 's arbitrariness is the main reason for Punjab's defeat!
Arbitrary, no international level spinners were taken in the auction, while spinners have been dominating this year!That's why this team has been biting its nose for the last several years!
👎👎😡😡— ʙᴀʙʟᴏᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴋᴜʀ (@Babloothakur01) May 17, 2022
PBKS should get rid of Anil Kumble first & foremost.
— Nayn (@CrowBastard_) May 16, 2022
Want to go out there and play the best cricket – Punjab captain Mayank Agarwal
Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal pointed out the batting collapse during their innings as the reason behind their failure to chase down 160. The franchise is seventh on the points table with twelve points from thirteen matches. They have one fixture remaining in the league stages on May 22 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The match holds great importance for the Punjab Kings, to stay alive in the race for playoffs. A loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad would end their IPL 2022 campaign. However, even a win won’t guarantee a spot, as they will be tied on 14 points with other teams.
Mayank Agarwal expressed that the team will try to give their best against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He said: “Between 5-10 we lost too many wickets and that’s where we lost the game. It was definitely chaseable for the batting we have, and the wicket wasn’t as bad as it seemed.”
“There’s still a match to be played. Want to go out there and play the best cricket. Still haven’t played our best cricket and look forward to doing that in the last game,” he added.
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