IPL 2022 season audit: Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings have had their IPL 2022 journey cut short at the end of the group stages, finishing sixth in the standings.

Over the past two months, Punjab have evened the ledger as they recorded seven wins and as many losses, almost following a win-loss alternate record for the entire tournament.

It was a season typified by strong winning momentum and lapses in form as their campaign exemplifies the phrase 'middle of the road'.

The Kings clearly adopted an aggressive approach to the tournament in the first half of IPL 2022, with a squad stacked full of big-hitters. True to their style, an incredible run chase of 206 against Royal Challengers Bangalore kickstarted their campaign.

But as a general rule, their aggressive play didn't bear fruit given a record of just three wins after seven matches. There were simply too many instances where the side lost too many wickets early on in their innings, leaving little wiggle room with the remaining overs.

Throughout the second half of the season, the aggressive mindset remained but a little more wisdom was injected into the gameplan.

Their best form was capable of registering an eight-wicket win against the ladder-leaders Gujarat Titans. An outstanding bowling display (led by Kagiso Rabada's 33/4) limited the Titans to just 143 after 20 overs.

However, winning back-to-back games proved to be a struggle. The side couldn't string good bowling performances with good batting displays, ultimately succumbing to sixth on the ladder

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Positive takeaways: Individual performers

Punjab Kings were certainly aided by two of the better individual batting performances in IPL 2022. Overseas player Liam Livingstone and homegrown Shikhar Dhawan were both in the top six run-scorers in the group stages of the tournament.

Livingstone has amassed a total of 437 runs, along with an average of 36.41 and an incredible strike rate of more than 182. He scored four half-centuries from 14 innings.

Meanwhile, Dhawan's 460-run tally was enough to secure his spot as the fourth-highest run-scorer in IPL 2022 after the group stages. He notched up three fifties (with a high score of 88*) at an average of 38.33 and a strike rate of 122.66.

Kagiso Rabada certainly played his role in what was a somewhat lacklustre tournament for his franchise Punjab Kings.

Rabada was the standout quick this tournament, taking the most wickets by a pacer - 23 scalps from 13 innings. He was third overall in the top five wicket-takers in the group stages of IPL 2022.

Rabada boasted a respectable average of 17.65 and an economy rate of under 9 and certainly played a critical role for his franchise. The Proteas not only excelled in IPL 2022 but he has now taken the most wickets by a South African in IPL history.

Other notable mentions include Jitesh Sharma. The uncapped wicket-keeper was able to hold his own against some of the best bowlers in the world, amassing 234 runs for the tournament from ten innings (strike rate 163.63).

Arshdeep Singh also excelled in IPL 2022 as a relatively inexperienced figure, which earned him a spot in the Indian T20I squad that will take on South Africa next month.

Singh's strongest asset was his bowling in the death overs, where he recorded one of the best economy rates in the tournament (7.58), second only to Jasprit Bumrah (7.38).