"The games we've lost we've not lost very easily" - PBKS batting coach Wasim Jaffer on the team's losses this season
Punjab Kings (PBKS) batting coach Wasim Jaffer spoke about the team's ability to fight till the end without going down easy in defeats ahead of their match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Mohali on Thursday, April 20. PBKS have won three of their five matches and are in fifth place in the points table.
Speaking to the franchise's Twitter handle ahead of the RCB clash, Jaffer said:
"What I would say that the games we've lost we've not lost very easily if you look at it, from the situation we were in against srh, shikhar played one of the best knocks you can see in the IPL, 99 out of 143 and we still made a game out of it, I thought rahul tripathi played an excellent knock, if he wasn't there, I think we would have made a game out of it."
He continued:
"And even against Gujarat Titans I thought we only made 160 but we were the ones looking favourites till the last second last delivery so I think that's a good sign that we haven't lost very easily."
"All the players are in a very good space" 🗣
@wasimjaffer14 is full of optimism as we head into a thriller against RCB at Sadda Akhada! 🏟
#JazbaHaiPunjabi #SaddaPunjab #PBKSvRCB #TATAIPL https://t.co/KTxeaJLDj2
The 45-year-old was also impressed by the team's ability to beat good teams in the competition. He said:
"We've won against good teams like Rajasthan Royals (table toppers) we've beaten them, we've beaten lucknow and I think we've not played the perfect game yet so that is a very good sign going forward but we can't be complacent, we need to win 2,3 on the bounce and the first hurdle is to get qualified so not thinking too far ahead."
PBKS won their first two games of the season against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) before losing the next two games against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Gujarat Titans (GT). They rebounded and beat the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their most recent game on Saturday, April 15.
"It's a very important stage of the tournament" - Wasim Jaffer ahead of the RCB clash
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer felt that playing against RCB would be like any other match and maintained that the players are in good mental space. Punjab Kings take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a crucial encounter at Mohali on Thursday, April 20.
Speaking ahead of the RCB clash, Jaffer said:
"I think just like any other game, all the players are in very good space, they are pretty much focussed, it's a very important stage of the tournament, so I don't think we are preparing anything differently, everybody is getting to hit, everybody is getting to bowl, they are getting what they want."
Jaffer also credited the morale and the atmosphere within the team, saying:
"From my perspective it's looking pretty good, the boys are looking happy, they are practicing nicely, nothing negative that I can see so the atmosphere within the team looking pretty good"
PBKS are still sweating on their regular captain and in-form batsman Shikhar Dhawan's fitness for the game against RCB. Dhawan is the fourth-leading scorer this season, with 233 runs in four innings at an average of 116.50.
Sam Curran was the stand-in skipper for the last game and did an admirable job, leading the team to victory by two wickets off the last over against LSG in Lucknow on Saturday, April 15.