After a crucial 8-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans on Tuesday, Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal has spoken up about the shift in his batting position. In the match against Gujarat, Punjab made significant changes to their batting lineup, with Mayank being moved to the middle order and Jonny Bairstow replacing him as opener alongside Shikhar Dhawan.
Livingstone stepped down to bat at number 4 and struck 30 off just 10 balls to help his team to victory alongside Dhawan. Mayank didn’t get a chance to bat. The PBKS captain wants his squad to keep up the momentum and win back-to-back games in future games.
Mayank Agarwal explains why Punjab Kings changed their batting order
Following a good win over the Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal explained why he was moved down the order and hinted at a possible batting line-up change for the next IPL 2022 games.
In the just-finished game, Agarwal chose to bat in the middle order rather than opening the innings with Shikhar Dhawan. Instead, Jonny Bairstow walked beside Dhawan, but he failed terribly as he only managed to score one run. The lineup adjustment paid off for PBKS, as Dhawan batted freely to take control of the game from the start, scoring an undefeated 53-ball 62.
Agarwal explained why he made such a move, claiming that it was for the team’s benefit because they had lately lost out on some critical games.
“We would like to string a few wins back-to-back now (Decision to send Liam Livingstone up the order and Bairstow to open). We’re trying to get the best out of Jonny. He’s done well opening the innings and I said I’ll go anchor at No. 4 and he can express himself. Shikhar was going to bat through and Livy could go up there and play the way he wants to play. It was nice the way he played and got the score pretty quickly,” Mayank Agarwal said.
Agarwal also complimented the bowling staff, noting that his group did an excellent job of keeping the Titans’ bats in check. He went on to say that the team would like to push itself to compete against other teams in the future.
