IPL 2021: The Failure of The Two Mighty West Indians Is Proving Costly For The Punjab Kings

Another match. Same story. In yet another batting collapse – their third in six matches – Punjab Kings were restricted to 123 for 9 by the Kolkata Knight Riders and succumbed to a five-wicket defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It has been a see-saw performance by the batting line-up of the KL-Rahul led franchise in the tournament which means that they now find themselves in the bottom half with just two wins from six matches. One of the major reasons for their indifferent show with the bat so far in the tournament has been the poor performance of the two West Indians in their starting XI – Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran.

Chris Gayle – the Universe Boss is one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the IPL. He is one of the only three in IPL history to have a batting average in excess of 40 and strike rate of more than 140. Gayle was in fine form in the previous three editions of the tournament. He aggregated 368 runs in 11 matches at an average of 40.88 and strike rate of 146.03 in 2018, 490 runs in 13 matches at 40.83 and 153.6 in 2019 and 288 runs in 7 matches at an average of 41.14 and strike rate of 137.14 in 2020.

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But the story has been somewhat different in 2021. Gayle has just managed to score 119 runs in 6 matches for the Punjab Kings this season. Neither is he registering the big runs nor producing the cameos as his batting average of 23.8 and strike rate of 119 indicate. Apart from the two 40s against the Royals and Mumbai Indians – Punjab Kings won both these matches, the destructive left-hander has scores of 10, 11, 15 and 0 in his other four innings of the competition. Significantly, his team has lost all these 4 encounters.

If Rahul is the anchor at the top of the order, then Gayle is the playmaker in the middle order for Punjab Kings and his success or failure has a direct impact on the fortunes of the team.

Gayle usually consumes a few deliveries before launching into the opposition attack. But because he is getting out just after reaching double-digits it is having a two-pronged negative impact on the Punjab Kings. One, he is not contributing substantially. Also, by wasting precious deliveries and not scoring at a high rate he is putting pressure on the batsmen at the other end and the ones to follow. A telling statistic which suggests that he is not at his usual best just yet in the tournament is the number of times he has cleared the ropes this season – Gayle has only hit 5 sixes in 6 matches in IPL 2021. Compare this to his overall sixes per match ratio of 2.58 in the IPL and it tells you that all is not well with the Universe Boss!

The performance of the other West Indian in the middle order has been shocking to say the least. The talented Nicholas Pooran has looked all at sea and just managed to aggregate a paltry 28 runs in 5 innings at a strike rate of 93.33 in IPL 2021. It is amongst the worst performances for a top six batsman for any team this season. Pooran has failed to provide any impetus at the death in any of the matches he has played in the competition. He came into bat in the 18th over against the Royals and was dismissed for a golden duck. He had plenty of overs to make a big score to get his team out of trouble against CSK but failed registering his second consecutive duck.

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Pooran again had the opportunity to provide the acceleration at the death in the clash against the Delhi Capitals but was dismissed for 9 off 8 deliveries. He was run out without facing a delivery for his third duck of the season against the Sunrisers. The left-hander finally managed to get to double-digits against KKR but exited just when he had to shoulder responsibility and get a big score for his franchise – 19 off 19 deliveries and carelessly giving away his wicket to a reckless heave when his team needed him to stay there at the crease.

Pooran has looked a patch of the batsman who smashed 353 runs in 14 matches at an average of 35.3 and strike rate of almost 170 for the Punjab Kings last season. He was very consistent and produced as many as 6 cameos in the competition. His best knock though was a breathtaking 77 off just 37 deliveries – including 7 sixes – against the Sunrisers in Dubai.

Gayle and Pooran are getting an extended run in the XI based on their ability, past record and reputation. They both have the prowess to single-handedly win the Punjab Kings match after match, annihilating any opposition attack in the IPL. Also, there aren’t many batsmen who can replace the Universe Boss and his team-mate from the Caribbean and replicate what they can potentially do with the bat.

But the time has come for them to deliver. They need to live up to their names and billing and keep the Calypso flag flying high in the IPL.

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