Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal was disappointed with the poor showing of his batters after losing to Lucknow Super Giants by 20 runs in the IPL match, at the MCA International Stadium in Pune, on Friday, saying they were "below par".
Mohsin Khan bagged three wickets while Dushmantha Chameera and Krunal Pandya two each as Lucknow Super Giants restricted Punjab Kings to 133 for 8.
The Punjab Kings batters, chasing Lucknow's total of 153-8, certainly let the team down.
Agarwal, after getting a good start and scoring 25, was caught by LSG skipper K L Rahul and Jonny Bairstow was out for a 28-ball 32, but Shikhar Dhawan (5), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (9) and Jitesh Sharma (2) were 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 did not bat well enough and 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, he lauded his bowlers.
The pace trio of Kagiso Rababda (4/38), Arshdeep Singh (0/23) and Sandeep Sharma (1/18) bowled brilliantly, while leg spinner Rahul Chahar scalped two wickets.
"We are bowling exceedingly well and doing a lot of right things as a bowling unit. Arshdeep (Singh) has stepped up, Rahul (Chahar) got wickets and KG (Rabada), being the big guy, is always stepping up and getting us important wickets," said Agarwal.
Punjab Kings are placed seventh on the points table and need to win their last five games to entertain hopes of making it to the play-offs.
