Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal admitted that the dismal batting performance cost his team against Lucknow Super Giants on Friday at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. After restricting a power-pack LSG to a below-par 153/8 in 20 overs, Punjab batters failed to live up to expectations as they lost the match by 20 runs.
Punjab were very much in the game in the first half of the chase with 67/3 in the first 10 overs as Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow were still in the middle. However, they kept losing wickets in the second half as none of their set batters failed to play a big knock and take their team to the victory line.
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Mayank said that the team has to face the truth and they were below par with the bat as there were too many soft dismissals which cost them in the chase.
“I think we just kept losing wickets. We had batsmen who were set and we kept getting out. So many soft dismissals for us. It is disappointing and we have to face the truth. We didn’t bat well enough and we were below par with the bat,” Mayank said after the 20-run defeat.
There was not a single 50-run stand from the Punjab side as they kept losing wickets at the regular intervals which put pressure on Jonny Bairstow who was the highest scorer for them with 32.
The PBKS skipper said that there was a bit of swing and the bounce in the initial stage but later it was good to bat on.
“The new ball was doing a bit, seaming around and there was some bounce, it was a crucial period and after that, it did get better to bat on,” he added.
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However, Mayank heaped praises on his bowlers for their consistent efforts as he talked highly of Arshdeep Singh, KL Rahul and Kagiso Rabada.
“We are bowling exceedingly well and doing a lot of right things as a bowling unit. Arshdeep has stepped up, Rahul got wickets and KG being the big guy is always stepping up and getting us important wickets,” he concluded.
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