Punjab Kings geared up for next challenges, says coach Ponting

Carrying a banner reading ‘Thank You Punjab’—with ‘Punjab’ written in Gurmukhi—Punjab Kings wrapped up their home leg in New Chandigarh with a seven-wicket loss. Punjab Kings coach Ricky Ponting claimed that there was no uniform nature of the strip at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) International Stadium and the variety meant led the team to adjust each time it played a home game.

The Kings won two out of their four home matches this season, showing a slight improvement from the previous IPL season, where they managed just one win in five games at home. “It doesn’t offer a lot of pace and it doesn’t offer a lot of bounce and we talk about that. And to be honest, the four games we’ve played here, each wicket’s been slightly different, so it just takes you a little bit of time to adjust,”said Ponting.

The Kings now have a six-day break and Ponting would like to go back to the drawing board before the team plays Kolkata Knight Riders next on April 26, followed by their fixture against Chennai Super Kings on April 30.

Thereafter, the side will start their three-match campaign at second home, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, Dharamsala. “We’ve got a nice little break, we’ve got about a six day break now, which on the back of I think three games in about five days. The boys need that little bit of a freshen up, time to get away, forget about this result and make sure we focus on our next challenge, which is Kolkata Knight Riders down there, which we know will be a big game for us,’ he added.

While talking about Dharamsala, he added: “We have had our camp over there...and it was amazing. The conditions were pretty much different and we decided to have a pre-season camp for the first time. Let’s see, how things work for us there in Dharamsala.”

Ponting also expressed disappointment over the team’s batting effort in the defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where Punjab managed only 157 runs. “I think the wicket was much better than the 157 we scored. Several batsmen got starts but none converted them into big scores, and that’s crucial in T20 cricket—especially at the top of the order. We were targeting 180 or more, even close to 200, but we lost wickets in clumps again, which has been a recurring issue.”

He further added, “Unlike the last game here, where we dragged a win from nowhere, we weren’t good enough to do that.”