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Punjab Kings (PBKS) became the second team to get eliminated from the 17th edition of the IPL after a rather below par showing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). On the back of a splendid 92 from Virat Kohli and an impressive effort from the bowlers, RCB managed to defend their score of 241 quite comfortably, winning by 60 runs in the end.
PBKS had their moments in the season but failed to seize the opportunities in crucial junctures of the game. While they chased down a record target of 262 against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens and showed glimpses of what they can achieve as a team, the consistency factor was missing yet again.
This was also the 10th time in succession that Punjab Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs. One of the perennial underachievers of the IPL, Punjab however would feel lucky to have acquired the services of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma who was a complete revelation in the tournament.
PBKS have managed to win only four out of their twelve games so far but they definitely had the chance to win a few more. They lost a few close matches which came back to haunt them at the business end of the tournament.
Having said that, let us have a look at three matches which PBKS regret losing the most:
#3 A 9-run loss against the Mumbai Indians
It was a match where the pendulum swung from one team to the other and despite an astonishing knock under pressure from Ashutosh Sharma, the Punjab Kings fell short by just nine runs. It was the Punjab skipper Sam Curran who won the toss and put MI in.
Mumbai lost Ishan Kishan early but the partnership between Rohit Sharma and Suyakumar Yadav gave Mumbai the much-needed momentum they needed in the middle overs. Tilak Varma continued the momentum after Rohit's departure as MI went on to post a competitive score of 192 in their 20 overs.
An incredible bowling display from Gerald Coetzee and Jasprit Bumrah had Punjab reeling at 14/4 and it seemed there was no way back for them. However Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma had other ideas. Shashank couldn't quite convert his start into a big one and when he departed, the score read 111/7.
From there on, Ashutosh Sharma played one of the innings of a lifetime. Batting under tremendous pressure, Ashutosh kept clearing the ropes regularly and even played an outrageous sweep against Jasprit Bumrah which went for a maximum.
He kept thrashing the bowlers to all corners of the ground and brought Punjab within touching distance of the victory target. However a slower delivery from Coetzee brought about his downfall in the 18th over. Punjab tried hard to get close to the target but was eventually bowled out in the final over.
#2 PBKS lost against Chennai Super Kings after a solid bowling performance
The margin of the defeat might suggest that the Punjab Kings were thrashed by the Yellow Army but that was far from the truth. Punjab came into the game on the back of five consecutive wins against the Chennai Super Kings and at the halfway stage of the match, it looked like the domination would continue.
Sam Curran put the yellow army in after winning the toss and the Punjab bowlers were very disciplined from the outset. They did concede some runs in the powerplay but made a superb comeback in the middle overs. Rahul Chahar spun a web around the CSK batters bagging three crucial wickets while Harshal Patel also chipped in with three.
A score of 167 at the halfway stage looked well below par but the CSK bowlers had other ideas. Tushar Deshpande reduced Punjab to 9/2 before Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh steadied the ship with a fine partnership. However the wickets of two set batters opened floodgates for CSK and they pounced on the PBKS lower order.
On a pitch which offered some assistance for the spinners, Ravindra Jadeja looked a class above the rest and bagged three important wickets to stem Punjab's run flow. They also kept losing wickets at regular intervals which didn't really allow them to press on the accelerator. They could eventually muster 139, handing a convincing 28-run win to CSK.
#1 A 2-run loss against the Sunrisers Hyderabad
Punjab lost a few matches in the last over but the result of this match was one of the most heartbreaking ones for Punjab in the ongoing season. Yet again it was the brilliance of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma which took Punjab within touching distance of the victory target, only to lose by a couple of runs in the end.
On the back of a superb half-century from Nitish Kumar Reddy and vital contributions towards the end from Abdul Samad and Shahbaz Ahmed, the Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a more than decent score of 182 in their 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for Punjab, finishing with figures of 4/29.
The run-chase began in a disastrous fashion for the Punjab Kings. They lost their top three including Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow inside the 5th over as SRH stamped their authority in the game. Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza chipped in with some useful contributions but the required rate kept climbing at an alarming rate
That is when Ashutosh Sharma joined Shashank in the middle at the fall of Jitesh Sharma's wicket. Yet again the pair reignited the hopes of the Punjab dugout and their fans with some clean hitting. With 26 runs required off the final over, the duo smashed 23 runs of Jaydev Unadkat and couldn't quite get their side over the finish line.
