GT vs PBKS: I’ll go anchor at No. 4 - Mayank Agarwal hints at possible change of approach in upcoming games

IPL 2022: Mayank Agarwal dropped himself down to No. 5 as Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow opened in their win over Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.

Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal hinted at a possible change of approach for the franchise in the upcoming games of the Indian Premier League. Mayank’s statement came after their win against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday, 3 May.

Opener and captain of the team Mayank Agarwal chose to drop himself in the batting line-up. Agarwal did not come out to bat on the day, with Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow opening the innings. Jonny Bairstow was not successful on his outing against Gujarat, but Shikhar Dhawan dropped anchor to score a 53-ball 62. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Liam Livingston were number 3 and 4 and played two splendid innings to win Punjab the game.

Speaking after the game Mayank delved into the decision and said that it was a change of approach made by Punjab after their hit and miss outings.

“We would like to string a few wins back to back now. [Decision to send Livingston 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,” the captain said.

Mayank hailed the bowling department and said that they did exceedingly well to keep a check on the Gujarat batting line-up and the team would like to build onto more teams from here.

After their win, Punjab Kings have moved to the fifth position in the points table and would hope to win the remaining fixtures to make sure that they can be in the running for the semi-finals of the competition.