Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings have won one of their last six matches, a seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants with 12 balls unused. The rest of the sequence reads as a catalogue of narrow defeats and heavy losses. Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat them by 23 runs. Mumbai Indians scraped home by six wickets off the final ball. Delhi Capitals won by three wickets with six balls remaining. Sunrisers Hyderabad thrashed them by 33 runs. Gujarat Titans edged a close finish, winning by four wickets with one ball to spare.

The pattern is telling. When Punjab lose, they lose tight. Four of the five defeats have come in matches decided by margins of six wickets or fewer - the kind of contests that hinge on single moments, a dropped catch, a dot ball at the wrong time. Only against Hyderabad did they suffer a comprehensive hammering. The solitary win came with comfortable overs to spare, suggesting they can execute when conditions align.

What stands out is the absence of control. Punjab have been unable to build momentum. A win does not lead to another; instead it is followed by a sequence of near-misses and one heavy loss. They are competitive enough to stay in games but not secure enough to close them out. The margins tell the story of a team operating on the knife edge without the sharpness to tip results their way consistently.