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The Punjab Kings' bizarre batting order left former India spinner Harbhajan Singh perplexed in their IPL 2024 clash against Mumbai Indians on Thursday. With regular openers Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow unavailable, PBKS promoted all-rounder Sam Curran to open the innings alongside Prabhsimran Singh. However, this move backfired as both openers departed cheaply.
The real twist came when PBKS sent in the hard-hitting Liam Livingstone at No.4, a position generally reserved for an anchor to build the innings. Livingstone is renowned as a formidable finisher, capable of tearing apart attacks in the death overs. His dismissal for just one run left PBKS reeling at 14/4 while chasing 193.
Harbhajan was confused by PBKS' batting order, "What was the point of sending Sam Curran to open? Prabhsimran got out while trying to pull. I can understand that both players got out on not-so-dangerous deliveries. Then the delivery that got Rilee Rossouw out was sensational. But then you sent Livingstone as a batter who plays the role of finisher and goes on No. 6 because he plays the role of finisher," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
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We have to appreciate Shashank and Ashutosh: Harbhajan Singh
The former spinner questioned prioritizing Harpreet Singh ahead of the in-form Shashank Singh, who struck a brisk 41 off just 25 balls to give PBKS some hope. Harbhajan lauded Shashank and Ashutosh Sharma (61 off 28) for their brilliant efforts, without which PBKS wouldn't have been able to even come close to the target.
"We have to appreciate Shashank and Ashutosh. I want to understand how this management works. They send Livingstone up in the batting order and the players who are in form, Shashank are sent afterwards. You sent Harpreet Bhatia ahead of him," he added.
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Speaking about sending the in-form Shashank up the order, "If you have brought him, then you should have waited. Shashank is in good form he has already produced match-winning performances. If Sahshank and Ashutosh were not there PBKS would have fallen before 100. Ashutosh is in form and he should be promoted to the batting order. You should give youngsters an opportunity," he concluded.
Despite the great efforts of Shashank and Ashutosh, PBKS fell short by nine runs, courtesy of the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah (3/21) and Gerald Coetzee's (3/32) bowling and Suryakumar Yadav's explosive innings of 78 runs for the visitors.
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