Punjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin admitted his team was 20-30 runs short with the bat, and added that some batters could have been more proactive when they were out in the middle.
At the end of the Power-play, Punjab was cruising at 52/2. But Gujarat’s bowlers, led by Mohit Sharma’s 2-18, gave away only 42 runs in the middle overs and picked four wickets in the last five overs to keep Punjab to a below-par 153/8. Moreover, Punjab’s batters played 56 dot balls collectively as they crashed to a six-wicket defeat at home.
“It was in our batting, we probably left 20-30 runs out there. In the end, that’s probably the difference in the result. Last game, I thought Hyderabad bowled well. This time it was our fault with the bat not capitalizing on a few guys that got in, be a little more proactive to find those 20-30 runs,” said Haddin in the post-match press conference.
Young opener Prabhsimran Singh has seen a dip in form, recording two consecutive ducks in the tournament after making a rollicking fifty against Rajasthan Royals. Haddin expressed confidence that the young right-handed batter will get back to his scoring best soon.
“The thing with young guys is that they will go through that. The most important thing now is that they’re learning the reasons why. We’ve seen against Rajasthan he’s extremely talented when he gets in. He’s got a lot of power, shots around the field and he can be a match-winner.”
“So, it’s about him understanding his tempo and his role. We’re going to back him to play a style of game we need in the first six overs and it’s going to be a high-risk game. So, you’re going to see some good and bad performances,” he added.
Haddin further remarked that the Punjab side will continue to back Prabhsimran in the opening role.
“We’ve got a lot of options in the squad. But at the moment, his role is safe at the top of the order to play a proactive game. We’ve seen in this tournament if you give the guys a couple of extra games they normally come good.”
“They’re extremely talented players. He plays in a high-pressure role in the first six overs to take the game on. We’re comfortable where he is at. He’d obviously like some more runs but the upside is when he gets things right and finds some consistency he’d be a very dangerous player for some time,” he concluded.
