Punjab Kings had a promising start to the TATA IPL 2022 campaign, defeating heavyweights in their journey. Unfortunately, they lost their momentum due to the inconsistency. Despite possessing a formidable batting line, the Punjab Kings have not experienced an impressive stint thus far. Here is about Will Jonny Bairstow’s Batting Woes Continue?
To make matters tougher, Bairstow is still struggling with his new team. The former Sunrisers Hyderabad player, who was acquired by Punjab for a hefty INR 6.25 cr, has fallen short of his hype. Bairstow was prepared to join the squad immediately after missing the first 3 matches of the IPL owing to international commitments.
The former SRH star has scored just 25 runs in one of his 7 games so far this season, with a strike rate of 105 and an avg of 11.43. In the last match, Punjab made a change in the top batting order despite Bairstow’s run drought, upgraded him to open the innings along with Shikhar Dhawan.
Bairstow’s shortage of runs has been a major issue for PBKS
The Kings won comfortably in their most recent match. On a two-paced field, their bowling unit performed an exceptional job of limiting the Titans to a below-par total. In response, Punjab surprisingly advanced Bairstow to the top order of the batting lineup, however, the Englishman was dismissed for 1 run in the 3rd over, surrendering to Shami.
Jonny Bairstow’s shortage of runs has been a major issue for Punjab Kings this campaign, therefore skipper Mayank will be having a tough call to bring in changes to the squad if necessary for an approach to strengthening the team’s prospects, where the skipper’s tactics went in vain occasionally.
However, Bairstow has an impressive record as an opener in the IPL, with a strike rate over 140 and an avg of 42, whereas Agarwal goes to the middle order. There are a lot of things that have to be done to get the utmost out of England’s aggressive batter. If Mayank and his team are now in the playoff picture, he and his team must need to do their best to reach the finish line.
Furthermore, they were able to find their rhythm in the most recent encounter against the Gujarat Titans. As in the first match of Weekend’s doubleheader, the team captained by Mayank Agarwal will be filled with hope and confidence, when they face off Rajasthan Royals.
In the remaining fixtures from now on, which are must-wins for the PBKS, Bairstow will need to enhance his quality of play. Punjab is currently in the seventh position in the league with 5 wins and 5 losses and they must win consecutive games from here on to qualify to reach the top half of the standings and make the finals.
