TATA IPL 2024: Brad Haddin of PBKS, 'Our focus is on ensuring we win upcoming games'
The Punjab Kings are gearing up for a showdown against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. As the Indian Premier League's playoff stage draws near, attention is squarely on the points table. Every team still has a shot at clinching the coveted top-four spot, but assistant coach Brad Haddin emphasizes that the Punjab Kings are focused on taking it one game at a time. Following a 28-run defeat to the Chennai Super Kings at the same venue last week, Punjab is determined to bounce back with a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
"The discussion over the last couple of days is about the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. If you look back to the last match we played, we got ourselves in a position to win the game. We had to chase 160-odd runs and we could not chase it down. So yeah, our main focus has been making sure we work on what we needed to from that game and concentrate on that. There's no point worrying about the next two after this unless we play well in this one".
Haddin expressed disappointment over the result in the previous game. "We thought we just started to play some good cricket. Our batters started to find some good form after Kolkata and Chennai. And it was disappointing. We thought we were just starting to get some momentum back in the tournament. To lose the way we did was disappointing", he said.
However, the former Australian international commended the contributions of the young players Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, highlighting their significant impact this season. These two emerging talents have displayed impressive batting skills in the lower-middle order, playing pivotal roles in securing crucial victories for their team.
"I think Shashank and Ashutosh have been outstanding. They are two young players that have grown during the IPL. The most pleasing thing about those players is they've got runs under pressure. You see guys come in and then score runs. But these two have come in and scored runs in tough situations", Haddin said.
In the absence of skipper Shikhar Dhawan due to injury, Sam Curran has taken charge of the team in recent matches. Haddin acknowledged that Dhawan's injury has posed a challenge for Punjab this season but remains optimistic about the left-handed batsman's potential return for the final two games.
"We go to Delhi after this game for a couple of days before we go to our next game in Guwahati. Shikhar will be assessed and then hopefully we can have some more positive news on him for the last couple of games. We will assess him when we get to Delhi. Fingers crossed", he signed off.
