Punjab Kings (PBKS) batting coach Wasim Jaffer has backed his staff’s bowlers to make a powerful comeback after the heavy loss towards Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), including that it “was one of those days when everything clicked for the opposition.”
The likes of Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran pummelled the Punjab bowlers into submission as LSG piled up 257 for five — second highest complete in IPL history– on Friday.
“Today was one of those days when everything clicked for the opposition and we were a bit clueless. Our bowlers will come back strong,” Jaffer mentioned after his staff’s 56-run loss.
“Our bowling couldn’t perform. They started off well in powerplay and just took off, they didn’t stop, every one played… Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran. When someone plays like this, it’s very difficult, they didn’t lose momentum after the powerplay. As I said, It was an off day for our bowling.” Punjab’s main pacers Kagiso Rabada (2/52), Arshdeep Singh (1/54) and Sam Curran (1/38) conceded 144 runs between them throughout 11 overs.
The former India batter feels there isn’t any must press the panic button simply but. He, nevertheless, admitted that the bowlers might have approached the state of affairs in a different way.
“It’s not a serious concern. Before this our bowling has defended in serious conditions against Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. The bowling unit has performed better. Today was an off day.
“Maybe we could have used a Plan B, like using the slower balls a lot more and using the longer boundary consistently,” Jaffer mentioned.
Despite a mammoth complete to chase, Punjab didn’t shuffle their batting line as much as promote the large hitters of the aspect.
“Our top-three is a fix and (Atharva) Taide is someone who always does well in the powerplay. We also wanted to maintain a left-right combination throughout.
“Also, someone like (Liam) Livingstone hadn’t played a lot of cricket, (Sikandar) Raza had done well for us and that’s why he was promoted,” Jaffer mentioned.
“We thought that if we can get closer to the total, we have the power of Livingstone and Curran. As for Jitesh (Sharma) and Shahrukh (Khan), their roles are for the final five overs. Everyone did their best but it’s just unfortunate that we fell short by 56 runs.” Having received the toss, Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan had determined to bowl first, a call Jaffer backed.
“It is a trend for IPL sides to opt for chasing after winning the toss. Dew was obviously a factor too. We had seen it during practice and that was a reason as well. But when the opposition gets to 257, it’s always tough to chase.
“They got a fast start in the powerplay and never slowed down at any stage. You have to give them credit.”
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com