James Hopes, Punjab Kings’ bowling coach, advised his team’s hitters not to overthink their performance against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 of the 2017 Indian Premier League season. PBKS had a disappointing appearance, being bowled out for 101 in 14.1 overs and losing by eight wickets and 60 deliveries.
Hopes highlighted the significance of immediately recovering and not allowing the loss to dampen team morale ahead of Qualifier 2.
“We batted well in the first over, and then things just snowballed from there. It’s critical that we digest and move on from it before the end of tonight because we have to travel tomorrow [Friday] and get up to play another game on Sunday, which we’re going to do the hard way now. But I hope we play RCB again on Tuesday night [in the final],” Hopes said, as quoted by.
The former Australian all-rounder hoped that PBKS will take advantage of their second chance to reach the final.
“The worst thing our batters can do now is blink, start jumping at shadows, and question themselves. To be honest, we didn’t have a fantastic night at the plate, but we now have a two-day turnaround to play another final and earn the right. We’ve toiled for two and a half months to earn the right to a second opportunity, and maybe we’ll cash that second chance in,” Hopes stated.
By no means is it time to start over: James Hopes
Hopes discussed how the Shreyas Iyer-led team would prefer to approach proceedings with the bat in Ahmedabad.
“Historically, Ahmedabad is a really good pitch, and we know we’ll have to play hard and score soon. By no means is it time to start from scratch. We’ve worked for two and a half months to get to the point where we have a second chance, and we’re going to have to take advantage of it right now,” he said.
After losing in Qualifier 1, PBKS will have the opportunity to make amends by facing the victor of the Eliminator at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium on Sunday, June 1. The Shreyas Iyer-led team will be eager to end their trophy drought following a successful group-stage campaign.
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