While Punjab Kings have only won two out of their 14 home matches in last two seasons of Indian Premier League (IPL), the Shreyas Iyer-led team will hope to start their home campaign with a win against Rajasthan Royals in their first home match at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA International Stadium at Mullanpur on Saturday evening. The Ricky Ponting-coached Punjab Kings team are currently atop the points table with two wins out of two matches and Kings’ bowling coach Sunil Joshi believes the team will look to continue the momentum at home too.
“We have started very well away from home. We would like to have the same momentum going forward with a positive environment in the dressing room and among the players and coaches. I think when your squad of 16 players are doing so well and you have eight bowling options, nine batting options and the players are in form, you don’t need to do anything. It doesn’t matter whether you play at home or away. When your team is doing well, you just need to focus on the priorities and what players’ needs are. And that we have channelised very well. So, that is the way forward for us as well,” said Joshi on Friday evening.
The Punjab Kings had scored a 11-run win over Gujarat Titans in their opening game this season, followed by a eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants early this week. Captain Shreyas Iyer, who was bought by the Kings for a sum of Rs 26.75 crore in the last year’s mega auction, had scored 149 runs in two matches with a strike rate of 206.96 and had scored 97 runs in the team’s opening match against Gujarat Titans. With a new coach in the form of former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, Joshi also spoke about the team benefitting from a new coach.
“I think every head coach comes with different dynamics, communications. With Ricky, it’s much more positive and clear communication with players and other coaches. That elaborates the whole preparation for the team and coaches as well. The dynamics keep changing as we move to different venues. At this home ground, things change on a positive note. We have carefully seen these conditions in the last camp organised here. So looking at that, I think we are on the right track,” said Joshi.
Kings had only retained Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh prior to the mega auction and built a new core with Iyer being the second most expensive player in the auction behind Rishabh Pant, who was picked up by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore. Kings had a purse of Rs 110.5 crore going into the auction with it being the highest among the 10 teams. Kings used the Right to Match option for Indian pacer and local lad Arshdeep Singh at Rs 18 crore.
Joshi also talked about the local talent coming good for the team. “Of course, Punjab players are all home ground players. In fact, we have another talent. Harnoor Pannu is still waiting to get his chance, Harpreet Brar is waiting too. It is a great sign for Punjab because there are so many players who are knocking at the doors. Recently, Arshdeep has done wonders for Indian cricket and he has shown maturity as well. He can take any responsibility and deliver. So, we are very proud of him,” said Joshi.
The former Indian spinner also believes that the team has the right balance seeing the home conditions at Mohali and Dharamshala, where the team will play four and three matches respectively. “I think if you look at the team composition of our auctions also, we have gone for the best bowling attack. Fast bowling in terms, Indian bowling as well, spin as well. So, the batters as well. Still, there is a lot of hidden talent which is going to come during the tournament. So, we all should be waiting for that. Toss is not that important in T20. Our strategy should be good, which we are ensuring. Both the teams come here to play well. The team which is better equipped and better skilled, which you can see in our team this year, wins. The camaraderie among the players and the coaches is also important which Punjab Kings have greatly shown this year,” said Joshi.
Traffic advisory
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PCA has also issued a traffic advisory for the general public for the home matches at the Mullanpur stadium.
From Dakshin Marg: Cricket fans can take left from Mullanpur Chandigarh Barrier to get on the road toward Baddi-Kurali. Then, the fans can take left from the Baddi-Kurali road, near the Omaxe shop building, on the PR-7 road (airport road). The fans can take left from the airport road towards the stadium road.
Alternatively, after taking left from the Mullanpur Chandigarh Barrier to get on the road toward Baddi-Kurali, the fans can turn left, near the Eco City 1 township and get on the PR-6 road and reach the stadium road.
From Airport Road: If fans are coming from the Baddi / Kurali road, go straight on the PR-7 road and take right towards the stadium road. If fans are coming from the Kurali side, take a right towards the stadium road.
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From PGI Madhya Marg Road: The fans have to go straight on the road toward Baddi-Kurali road and take a left to get on the PR-7 road (airport road). Then, they can take left from the airport road towards the stadium road. Alternatively, after taking left from the Mullanpur Chandigarh Barrier to get on the road toward Kurali, the fans can turn left, near the Eco City 1 township and get on the PR-6 road and reach the stadium road.
The general public can park their vehicles at P4, P5, and P6 with a payment of Rs 200 for a four-wheeler and Rs 100 for a two-wheeler.