PUNE: After their 20-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday, Punjab Kings' skipper Mayank Agarwal expressed disappointed with the team's batting and said that there were too many soft dismissals during their run-chase.
Mohsin Khan bagged three wickets while Dushmantha Chameera and Krunal Pandya took two each for LSG as they restricted Punjab to 133/8 here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, after putting up 153/8 on the board.
None of the Punjab batters could really manage to score big for the team. Agarwal (25) was caught by LSG skipper KL Rahul off Chameera after getting his eye in. Shikhar Dhawan (5) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (9) too got out cheaply.
"I think we just kept losing wickets. We had batsmen who were set and we kept getting out. So many soft dismissals for us. It is disappointing and we have to face the truth. We didn't bat well enough and we were below par with the bat. The new ball was doing a bit, seaming around and there was some bounce. It was a crucial period and after that it did get better to bat on," said Agarwal at the post-match presentation.
However, Agarwal lauded the Punjab bowlers.
The pace trio of Rababda (4/38), Arshdeep Singh (0/23) and Sandeep Sharma (1/18) bowled brilliantly, while leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (2/30) also delivered the goods with two wickets.
"We are bowling exceedingly well and doing a lot of right things as a bowling unit. Arshdeep has stepped up, Rahul got wickets; and KG (Rabada) being the big guy is always stepping up and getting us important wickets," said Agarwal.
Punjab are now at seventh place on the ten-team table with 8 points, while LSG are third with 12 points.
