Punjab Kings head coach Sanjay Bangar pointed to 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 loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last league match on Sunday (May 19). In the absence of some big names, PBKS did well to post a grand total of 214/5 in the allotted 20 overs. However, their bowlers failed to complement the batsmen’s efforts as SRH chased down the total with ease.
PBKS finished in ninth place in the points table with just five wins in 14 games, as their wait to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014 was extended by another year. Speaking to the media after the match against SRH, Bangar stated that not doing well in the home matches hurt the team. While PBKS won four away games, they could only win one at home.
“We couldn’t adapt to the conditions at home. We won four of the seven away games, but of the seven home games we only managed to win one. So, if a team has to progress in a tournament, it is certainly worrying.” aspect,” Bangar said.
“The four games we lost in a row in the middle of the season, all of them at home, and the two close games we lost, hurt us. In some games that went down to the wire, we couldn’t win the crucial moments. You leave so many things to do in the second half of the season which is always a challenge. he added.
Sanjay Bangar on the positives of the season:
While PBKS didn’t really have many positives from the disappointing season, Sanjay Bangar pointed out that the performance of domestic players like Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma was one of the positives.
“If you look at the performances of domestic batsmen Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, those are the real positives for us as far as our season is concerned in the batting department.” said the former India all-rounder.
Shashank finished the season as PBKS’s leading 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 everyone with his batting power.
Bangar also lamented 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 would be available. The thing is that the tournament was slightly prolonged, I would say, due to multiple reasons. We were all in a similar situation, but we lost those English players.” he said.
“For us, even losing Livingstone with a knee problem, the ECB pulled him out. Even KG (Kagiso Rabada) had an infection and had to return (to South Africa). Those things, added together, meant that when we got up to two Last games we were missing players with pedigree and international experience.
“That hurt us, but it’s not the only reason our season was below average.” Bangar added.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have booked their place in the IPL 2024 playoffs.
