News
Idea is to minimise the errors at Ekana: Sunil Joshi
Follow UsThe PBKS spin bowling coach is also hopeful of taking "home advantage" out of the equation
Punjab Kings (PBKS) got off the mark this season with an impressive performance against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Mullanpur, but succumbed to a defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their second Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 game. With the home teams proving to be dominant this season, PBKS' spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi is hopeful of changing the trend when they take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on March 30 (Saturday) in Lucknow.
"We plan to add another win. All teams have won their home matches, so we are hopeful to change the record," Joshi said at a pre-match press conference on March 29 (Friday).
The pitch at the Ekana Stadium has been in attention for being a slow track with the average first innings score being 148 last season. Joshi says it will come down to minimise the errors.
"It's T20, and anything can happen at any time. The idea is to minimise your errors look for positives and keep the pressure. As a bowling coach, I can only coach bowlers to keep pressure every ball and it does not matter whether the batsmen attempt a six. What we can control is that we bowl all 24 good balls," he said.
"Speaking of the Ekana pitch, I am aware of how the bounce and dimension work on this surface. So my task is to inform the players on which are the good pockets where we can bowl on to get the maximum from the pitch."
Speaking of Harpreet Brar, Joshi, a former left-arm spinner himself says that the young spinner has worked on improving on his consistency.
"Harpreet has been bowling well in T20 for the past couple of years, in the IPL and also in the domestic circuits, including Vijay Hazare. His mindset has become one of a wicket-taking bowler and that has been the big difference. He has improved his consistency and he is also working on variations which are important for a spinner," Joshi said.
Joshi also said that he does not expect his side to make any changes for the game. "I think we will go with the winning combination that we went with the last game unless there is a change in fitness reports at the last minute, which can also happen during final warm-ups. Otherwise, we are good to go with the same team," the former India spinner said.
