Lucknow, March 31
Punjab Kings (PBKS) began their season on a promising note with an 11-run win over Gujarat Titans in their opening contest. The Shreyas Iyer's side will return to action after a gap of seven days to face off against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday. But while a long break in a short-format tournament could halt momentum, the Punjab Kings camp believes the time gap has allowed them to adapt and evolve to conditions.
"It has been a slower start to the tournament for us this season game-wise. It gives us the advantage to prepare our skills for our next challenge. We know it will be a spin-heavy night tomorrow. We did not have that in our first game. The guys have been preparing for the same over the last few days. The beauty of the seven-day gap is that we had time to prepare for it," Punjab Kings fast bowling coach James Hopes said at the pre-match press conference on Monday.
The Lucknow side has been hit with a string of injuries, with their fast bowling unit comprising of Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan and Akash Deep all recovering from injuries. The side has relied heavily on spin bowling unit made up by Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Shahbaz Ahmed and Manimaran Siddharth in their first two opening games.
Hence, the expectation is to witness a similar pattern on Tuesday when Punjab comes down to bat. On being asked if Lucknow will prepare the surface favourable for spin bowling, Hopes said that the home team has the right to take advantage of the conditions and Punjab will have to prepare accordingly.
"I think it's fair for a home side to have the home-ground advantage. If you have a spin-heavy attack, you can play on a spinning wicket. We have to prepare accordingly. There are no teams in this tournament that cannot play on a turning track," he said.
Further elaborating, the former Aussie speedster added, "In the last 2-3 years, the IPL has become very batting centric with huge scores. I have not seen any surface that is unplayable. I think it's fine if the surface slightly favours your home team."
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer was praised heavily for his calm captaincy in the opening game. His decision to hand over the ball to impact player Vyshak Vijaykumar during a crucial stage of the match proved to be a masterstroke that helped his side win the contest.
On being asked about his thoughts on Iyer's captaincy, Hopes said, "Iyer brings his calmness to any team that he is playing for. His batting is world-class. He is now considered as one of the better short-form cricketers in the world."
"From a captaincy point of view, he keeps everything calm on the field. The bowlers were raving about it after the first game. He is clear with his communication and does not lose his nerve when the ball is flying around. We are lucky to have him as captain," Hopes signed off.
Punjab Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants will begin at 19:30 hrs IST on Tuesday.
- ANI
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