The image of a pensive Ricky Ponting sitting all alone in the Punjab Kings dugout and staring blankly after their loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday was perhaps symbolic of the team’s sorry story.
It is really difficult to understand what has gone so wrong for a team that, even a few days back, looked the strongest in the competition. Punjab were unbeaten in their first seven matches, winning six and sharing points in the rain-ruined game against the Kolkata Knight Riders. But after that, the script got completely flipped.
Coached by Ponting and with Shreyas Iyer as the skipper, Punjab lost six games on the trot. Forget the title, they are now not even certain of making the playoffs.
While it is difficult to pinpoint any one particular reason that led to Punjab’s free-fall, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, has analysed the team’s string of defeats.
“I saw a powerful picture on TV after the match today. Ricky Ponting was leaning forward in the dugout, all alone. He must have a lot going on inside his head.
“They were in the prime position to run away and take the top two spots in this tournament. I think they must be asking themselves where they went wrong,” Ashwin, a former Punjab Kings player and captain, said.
“I sat on the same chair in 2018. I am not defending them, but I said in the last episode (on his YouTube channel) as well, the three or four champion teams don’t play at different home venues.
“You were winning in Mullanpur continuously, then you went to Dharamsala, and you lost three consecutive home games.”
Dharamsala is Punjab’s second ‘home’ ground after Mullanpur, but the conditions in the two venues are very different, and that hurt the team’s performance, Ashwin said.
“These are young players, and even foreign players are struggling. There’s a big difference between Mullanpur and Dharamsala when it comes to pace and bounce.
“The soil is the same, but the altitude is different. This is also an away game for Punjab. If they had won even one of these home games, they would’ve been smiling right now. It’s quite disappointing. I feel sad for Punjab. You shouldn’t leave your home ground. Ricky Ponting will be distraught; Shreyas Iyer will be too.”
Punjab’s last league game is an away fixture, against the Lucknow Super Giants,
on Saturday.
