'It was an off day for our bowling.'
Punjab Kings batting coach Wasim Jaffer has backed his team's bowlers to make a strong comeback after the heavy defeat to Lucknow Super Giants, adding that it "was one of those days when everything clicked for the opposition”.
The likes of Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran pummelled the Punjab bowlers into submission as LSG piled up 257 for 5 – the second highest total in IPL history -- in Friday’s match in Mohali.
"Today was one of those days when everything clicked for the opposition and we were a bit clueless. Our bowlers will come back strong," said Jaffer, after the 56-run defeat.
"Our bowling couldn't perform. They started off well in powerplay and just took off; they didn't stop, every one played... Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran. When someone plays like this it's very difficult; they didn't lose momentum after the powerplay. As I said, it was an off day for our bowling."
Punjab's leading pacers Kagiso Rabada (2/52), Arshdeep Singh (1/54) and Sam Curran (1/38) conceded 144 runs between them across 11 overs.
The former India batter feels there is no need to press the panic button just yet. He, however, admitted that the bowlers could have approached the situation differently.
"It's not a serious concern. Before this our bowling has defended in serious conditions against Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. The bowling unit has performed better. Today was an off day.
"Maybe we could have used a Plan B, like using the slower balls a lot more and using the longer boundary consistently," Jaffer added.
Despite the mammoth total to chase, Punjab did not shuffle their batting line-up to promote the big hitters in the side.
"Our top-three is a fix and (Atharva) Taide is someone who always does well in the powerplay. We also wanted to maintain a left-right combination throughout.
"Also, someone like (Liam) Livingstone hadn't played a lot of cricket. (Sikandar) Raza had done well for us and that's why he was promoted.
"We thought that if we can get closer to the total, we have the power of Livingstone and Curran. As for Jitesh (Sharma) and Shahrukh (Khan), their roles are for the final five overs. Everyone did their best but it's just unfortunate that we fell short by 56 runs."
Having won the toss, Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan decided to bowl first, a decision Jaffer backed.
"It is a trend for IPL sides to opt for chasing after winning the toss. Dew was obviously a factor too. We had seen it during practice and that was a reason as well. But when the opposition gets to 257 it's always tough to chase.
"They got a fast start in the powerplay and never slowed down at any stage. You have to give them credit."
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