Punjab Kings’ woeful bowling run came to haunt the side once more against Delhi Capitals on Monday. Punjab had to defend 68 runs off the last 30 balls to snap its losing streak but was ransacked for 73 in just 24.
Against Rajasthan Royals earlier this season, PBKS allowed Shubham Dubey and Donovan Ferreira to accumulate 63 runs off 4.2 overs and snatch an unlikely victory. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, two games later, Punjab went for 62 runs in the last five overs.
Shreyas Iyer’s team has now conceded 200-plus totals seven times this season, a joint record, and averting another hammering in the upcoming games at Dharamshala’s small ground dimensions would require a Herculean effort.
For a major part of the tournament, PBKS’s lacklustre PowerPlay returns were the concern. Before the four-game losing streak began, it had just eight wickets in the first six overs. This was because of Arshdeep Singh’s lean patch, where he had just three wickets in seven games during the field restrictions.
Though Arshdeep has made amends in time, the problems have quietly snowballed into a full-blown crisis elsewhere. | Photo Credit: PTI
Though Arshdeep has made amends in time, the problems have quietly snowballed into a full-blown crisis elsewhere. | Photo Credit: PTI
This was only a concern, not a crisis, largely because the left-armer’s dip in returns was only marginal. He had seven and eight wickets in the PowerPlay in the last two seasons, respectively. His economy saw an uptick from 8.50 to 9.00, which was not alarming.
Arshdeep fired back from that point, picking four early wickets in the next four games. By the end of the league stage, he could actually end up with his best-ever PowerPlay haul in a season.
“Arshdeep is a terrific cricketer, a very good bowler. And these big cricketers rise at the right moment. I think now is the right time, and our coach Ricky [Ricky Ponting] always speaks of peaking at the right time, at the back end of the tournament. If you ask me, I would say what has happened [Arshdeep’s performance] is not too bad. It’s not too good either,” assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves said before the tie against Mumbai Indians in Dharamshala on Thursday.
Though Arshdeep made amends in time, the problems quietly snowballed into a full-blown crisis elsewhere. And Punjab was so caught up in fixing things up front that it did not even notice.
After 11 games, out of which one was a washout, Punjab’s economy of 11.66 at the death is the worst in this tournament. Only two teams have picked fewer than PBKS’ 17 wickets in this phase, and both those teams are out of the Playoffs race. Before the four back-to-back losses, it had 12 wickets and went at less than 11 an over.
Over the last two seasons, a significant chunk of Arshdeep’s overs were reserved for the death. He bowled nearly 17 overs in 2024; in 2025, it went up to 20 overs. He claimed 10 and 11 wickets in these seasons, respectively. In 2026, Arshdeep has bowled only nine overs in the closing stages.
Punjab leaked runs at nearly 11 per over even last season, but had a much better wicket haul (34) that allowed it to curb the overall runs oppositions could accumulate. With Arshdeep tied up in the PowerPlay this time, it has no alternatives to fall back on.
Marco Jansen appears a dependable choice on paper, but he’s been picked at nearly 12 an over at the death and has just three wickets to his credit. To make it worse, the Protea has just one wicket in his last five outings. Twice the team has entrusted Marcus Stoinis to defend runs in the final or penultimate over and lost both times.
This meek record is as much due to a lack of a clear approach as it is to a dearth of options. Naturally, the sloppy fielding has played a part too.
“The plan is still to bowl into the surface. I always say that hard length, short of hard length is the best ball, especially when a new batsman is coming in. It’s not easy to hit because if you keep repeating those balls, there will be one ball where there’s a chance of mis-hitting, and you can get a wicket. We’ve been short of planning,” Shreyas had said after the loss to the Capitals.
The hard-length ploy has sat well with the best teams this season.
Gujarat Titans has targeted the hard-length region effectively at the death, picking five wickets and giving away 61 runs off 58 deliveries. Defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru is another team that has benefitted. It has six wickets from 54 balls at this length and an economy just slightly over seven.
However, the dividends have not been the same for PBKS. Despite their captain’s clear preference for the hard lengths, the PBKS bowlers have not trusted them enough. Off back-of-a-length deliveries, they have conceded 70 runs in 38 balls and have five wickets—strikingly more expensive than their fellow title contenders. They have been much more economical with the yorkers, going for only 34 runs off 33 balls, but have not opted for this route often enough.
“We had a golden run. And there’s a slight dip, but it’s all about the momentum. We are working and we hope to get back pretty quickly, maybe tomorrow itself. And from there, we hope to move it upwards,” Gonsalves said.
Punjab’s batting broke no sweat in going after massive totals, and that was the paper over cracks until midway through the season. But as teams continue to figure out ways to curb its explosive batting, PBKS will need its bowlers, too, to swing results its way.
In its four straight defeats, Punjab has exhausted its leeway for errors. It is now fourth in the standings and another defeat will hand the advantage to Chennai Super Kings. In the Playoffs race’s final stretch, PBKS’ bowlers will have to live up to their billing.
Published on May 14, 2026