Punjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin said the opportunity to spend close to 15 days in Jaipur has helped the team get accustomed to the conditions heading into the final two games of the league stage.
The side confirmed its place in the Playoffs with a win against Rajasthan Royals (RR) here, and the Sawai Mansingh stadium will be its designated home ground for its games against Delhi Capitals on Saturday and Mumbai Indians thereafter.
“I think we’ve been lucky since we’ve arrived, it’s felt like home. Fifteen days at a certain place, you get familiar with the surroundings. We’re familiar now with what the surface is going to bring,” the coach said.
“This venue has been high scoring. The other night [versus the Royals], we got 200 despite losing early wickets. The bounce was consistent right the way through. Scores of 180 to 200 have been the norm this IPL, and I don’t see here being any different,” he added.
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The Kings are two wins away from securing a spot in the top two, which will give them two shots at making the IPL 2025 final, but Haddin suggested that the focus was more on improving with each game.
“It’s good that we’ve qualified, but we spoke to the group some time ago about the style of game that we want to play, and we’ve got some clear goals where we want to finish at the end,” the former Australian wicketkeeper said.
“Tournament play is about getting better as the tournament goes on, and what we’ve done well is that our players are starting to get better, the deeper the tournament goes,” he added.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer batted at number five and was subbed out ahead of the second innings against the Royals after sustaining an injury to his finger, but Haddin confirmed that the Mumbai batter will be fit to play the whole game against the Capitals.
“He’s recovered well. He had a good hit yesterday. He’s a pretty tough character, and it’ll be hard not to get him out there,“ Haddin said.
“He’ll go back to his normal position at number three. He’s been outstanding, not only as a batter but as a leader throughout the whole tournament, “ he added.
Glenn Maxwell’s injury replacement, Mitch Owen, was dismissed for a duck in his first taste of the IPL against RR, but the Aussie coach said the Hobart Hurricanes star’s ‘sheer brute power’ will help the team.
“He’s [Owen] not going to change his game. He’s one of those players who can turn a game in ten balls, and that’s the mindset we want,” the coach said.
“He’s had over a week now to understand the conditions. Things were a bit rushed to start with, but he’s in a good spot,” he added.
