DHARAMSHALA: Punjab Kings are now living on a prayer after their sixth defeat on the trot put them on the brink of elimination on Sunday. The frustration is unmistakable in the Punjab Kings camp. Fast bowling coach James Hopes pointed at the bowlers’ inability to stay ahead of the game after the loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
“We need to tidy up some areas. I felt like we were always chasing our tail with the ball and not creating enough opportunities early. We controlled the Powerplay pretty well. But every time we’d get back the momentum, there would be a big over and they’d get back on top,” Hopes said after the match.
“The way we lost today was less frustrating than the other games. We should have put Mumbai Indians away. That’s what happens when you have these streaks in T20 cricket,” Hopes added.
Over the past week, the Punjab Kings management had to address off-field controversies involving some players. When asked if those issues disrupted the team’s momentum after they led the table midway through the tournament, Hopes responded: “Well I can say that I don't really know what you're talking about because I'm not on any social media or anything like that. I tend to keep in my lane which is just like hanging out with the fast bowlers. I don't think any of your field stuff derailed our campaign. I think what derailed our campaign was an inability to take control of momentum in games and every time we looked like doing it, we did something to hurt ourselves or trip ourselves up.”
‘Can’t elaborate on Arshdeep’s fitness’
Hopes appeared guarded when asked to elaborate on head of sports science Andrew Leipus’ revelation about Arshdeep coping with physical problems earlier in the tournament. “I cannot elaborate on that, sorry,” was his curt response.
“For me, Arshdeep has been training as much as he's ever trained doing everything he normally does. If you add maybe four of the drop catches that should have been taken off his bowling, he's on a 17-18 wicket season and he's going well. He fronts up every training session, every game ready to go and today was no different. Arshdeep is a warrior. I like him a lot and I think he's done outstandingly well,” he added.
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