Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari: With one win and one defeat in their first two matches, Punjab Kings are all set for their third game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here, hoping to become the first team to win an away match this season.
With nine matches played till Friday evening, all teams are maintaining a perfect record on their home turfs, but the Punjab Shers hope to change this record when they take on the KL Rahul-led side on Saturday. “We plan to add another win. All teams have won their home matches, so we are hopeful to change the record,” said Punjab Kings’ Spin Bowling Coach Sunil Joshi at a pre-match press conference on Friday.
The pitch at Ekana Stadium garnered much attention for supporting bowlers last season, with an average first innings score of 148. The veteran Joshi spoke on how he is preparing his bowling unit to make the most of the surface in the upcoming encounter. “It’s T20, and anything can happen at any time. The idea is to minimize your errors look for positives and keep the pressure. As a bowling coach, I can only coach bowlers to keep pressure on every ball and it does not matter whether the batsmen attempt a six. What we can control is that we bowl all 24 good balls,” he said.
“Speaking about the Ekana pitch, I am aware of how the bounce and dimension work on this surface. So, my task is to inform the players on which are the good pockets where we can bowl on to get the maximum from the pitch,” Joshi added.
The former Indian left-arm spin bowler further praised Harpreet Brar for his consistent performance so far this season. Brar recorded figures of 1-14 in Punjab’s first game against the Delhi Capitals and then followed it up with figures of 2-13 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. “Harpreet has been bowling well in T20 for the past couple of years, in the IPL and also in the domestic circuits, including Vijay Hazare. His mindset has become one of a wicket-taking bowler and that has been the big difference. He has improved his consistency, and he is also working on variations which are important for a spinner,” Joshi said.
On being asked about the team’s line-up for the upcoming clash, Joshi said that he does not expect any major surprises in the squad. “I think we will go with the winning combination that we went with the last game unless there is a change in fitness reports at the last minute, which can also happen during final warm-ups. Otherwise, we are good to go with the same team,” he signed off.
