Sunil Gavaskar Slams Punjab Kings' Batting Collapse vs RCB

Indian former cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar was quite annoyed with the manner in which Punjab Kings (PBKS) batsmen performed in Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2025. PBKS played Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a crucial game and their batting in that game was no good. They only reached a score of 101 before they were all out. RCB fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma were exceptional as they shared six wickets between them and made life extremely tough for PBKS. Hazlewood took three wickets for 21 runs and Suyash Sharma three wickets for only 17 runs. Marcus Stoinis was the highest scorer of PBKS. He scored 26 runs in just 17 balls. Azmatullah Omarzai also made an effort with 18 runs and Prabhsimran Singh reached double figures but the rest of the batting order fell apart.

Gavaskar was extremely furious after one of the dismissals and he mentioned on-air that the players of the PBKS were batting as if they wanted to lose. He mentioned that their selection of shots was appalling and they were simply surrendering their wickets. He even mentioned that it seemed like they were taking their own lives with the quality of shots they were playing. This reflected how frustrated he was with the batting strategy of PBKS. Gavaskar was particularly critical of captain Shreyas Iyer of PBKS. Shreyas Iyer got dismissed very early in his innings as he played only two runs from three balls. Gavaskar was angry because Shreyas played a shot in the air in the fourth over of the game when PBKS had already lost two wickets. He said that it was not a good shot whatsoever. He referred to it as a nothing shot and said that even if he was attempting to hit it over long off then it would have been understandable but this was a wild swing. The timing of the shot was also poor as it was too early in the innings and the team had already lost two wickets.

Marcus Stoinis who was the sole PBKS batter to manage some runs was also dismissed in a poor way. He got bowled by Suyash Sharma in the 11th over. Suyash Sharma produced a nice delivery that was thrown up on off and Stoinis attempted to play it with the turn over midwicket. But the ball turned sharply and went through the space between his bat and pad and struck the stumps. This was another indicator of how the PBKS batsmen were finding it tough to play sensible cricket shots. Stoinis himself had looked good while he was standing at the crease but he too lost his wicket as he was attempting an attacking shot without keeping in view the situation.

Musheer Khan was another batter of PBKS who had not a good game. He was playing his IPL debut as an impact player because PBKS had lost plenty of wickets in a hurry. Musheer Khan attempted to play a sweep shot against Suyash Sharma's googly but the ball turned too much and he could not make contact with it. The ball struck the stumps and Musheer had to trudge back to the pavilion. It was difficult for him to come in when as many wickets had already tumbled but he also was unable to cope with the pressure.

Mullanpur pitch was not an easy one to bat on and it would have been unwise for the PBKS batsmen to hit big shots at such an early stage in the innings. The RCB bowlers were exploiting the conditions well and they continued bowling hard lengths and lines. The PBKS batsmen were attempting aggressive cricket from the beginning but they were not able to form any strong alliances. Their belligerent strategy was not paying off since the ball was not coming on to the bat easily. It was hard to drive through the line and they were losing wickets at regular intervals. Their innings were finished in just 14.1 overs and they were unable to offer any resistance against the RCB bowlers.

Sunil Gavaskar's statements reflected how disappointed he was with the PBKS batters' performance. He is famous for telling things as they are and he did not spare his words. He told the PBKS batsmen to be more sensible and patient. They had to realize the conditions and play against them but instead they hit big shots that were uncalled for. Gavaskar's words of criticism reminded everyone that hitting rash shots can prove to be very expensive for the team. In a major match like this one needs to remain calm and form alliances rather than wasting wickets.

The PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer will have to reflect a lot about what went against them in this match. His own shot choice came under the scanner of Gavaskar and that indicates that he must lead from the front in situations like these. The team lacked any decent partnerships and they kept losing wickets due to bad shot selection. This is something that needs to be sorted out by the team management because in T20 cricket even if you want to play aggressive cricket you need to select your shots carefully. You cannot play crazy swings when the team has lost early wickets. This game will be a learning experience for PBKS that smart cricket is equally as essential as hard-hitting cricket.

RCB will be extremely satisfied with their game in this match. Their bowlers were extremely disciplined and didn't offer any free runs to PBKS. Josh Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma bowled exceptionally well and picked crucial wickets at the appropriate moment. They never let the PBKS batsmen settle and that is why they were able to hold them back to only 101 runs. It was an abysmal batting effort for PBKS and they will have to develop better plans in the future if they wish to perform well in high-profile matches. They need to play situationally and ensure they form partnerships.

Sunil Gavaskar's words will certainly ring in the ears of PBKS batters for a while. They need to learn from this game and return stronger in the next game. Batting in T20 cricket can be challenging but the fundamentals remain the same. Play as per the situation and don't throw your wicket away with a nothing shot.