Dharamshala, May 15 (IANS) After Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered their fifth consecutive loss after going down to Mumbai Indians, assistant coach Brad Haddin showed full faith in the squad and emphasised that the team’s path to the playoffs remains within their control.

After a strong start, and despite losing wickets in quick succession in the middle, the Kings staged a remarkable recovery to reach a total of 200/8. The lower order took the attack to the opposition, ensuring the side was right in the contest until the very last over.

While Mumbai Indians managed to chase the target with just one ball to spare, the depth shown by the Kings’ batting unit remains a key positive heading into the final two league games.

Despite a narrow result that didn’t go their way—marking the side’s fifth consecutive loss—the team remains in a competitive position, currently sitting in fourth place with 13 points as the race for the playoffs intensifies.

“The one thing to come out of it is we’ve got two games of cricket left and our destiny is still in our hands. Now there’s no tomorrow; there’s no talking about anything else. We have to win our remaining games now, and that’s as simple as it is. We’ll assess this quickly and get our heads around playing a day game here in a couple of days’ time,” Haddin said in a post-match presser.

He also highlighted the team’s ability to post a high total and credited the opposition for a standout individual performance. “I thought we did really well to get to the total we did. Mumbai bowled well early, but we had some really good hitting in the back end of the game to get us to what we thought was a really good total.

“We felt like we were in control for a long time, but it took a pretty special knock from Tilak (Varma) to get Mumbai home. That was a special innings and you have to give credit to that.”

Haddin spoke candidly about the atmosphere in the camp and the pressure that comes with the business end of the tournament.

“The whole tournament is pressure the whole time, and especially at this stage, this is what IPL cricket is about. You’ve got to be able to handle the big moments and handle the pressure. The result is hurting and the change room is hurting in there, but there are good signs out of tonight’s match. It’s important now that we respond well.”

Discussing the tactical side of the game, Haddin expressed and noted how much the scoring standards have shifted this season. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in every player in our squad. What you do see in this tournament now is some unbelievable power—it’s different to what we’re used to.

“Where 200 used to be a really good score, now it’s a total the team isn’t intimidated by. We’ve just got to find a way to get out of the rut we’re in and put the form we had at the start of the season back in,” he said.

Punjab Kings will conclude their home leg at the HPCA Cricket Stadium, Dharamshala, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 17.

–IANS

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