Punjab Kings' assistant coach Brad Haddin praised his team's batting performance throughout the tournament and denied any change in skipper Shreyas Iyer's batting order, who played down the order in the previous game against Rajasthan Royals.
00:00I think we've been lucky since we've arrived. It's felt like home when you've got the opportunity to spend in this sort of tournament 15 days in a certain place. You get familiar with the surroundings. We're familiar now with what the surface is going to bring after our first game. And it's starting to the stadium, the outside of the stadium is starting to look a lot like home. So from a players and coaches point of view, we're happy with what we've got.
00:30The foreign players have returned three days ago and that boasted your team a little bit more. So your thoughts on it?
00:39I think the one thing we've got now, we've got a full complement of players ready to play. All the foreign players have come back. So for the first time, we've got everyone available.
00:50Over the last three weeks, we've played some really consistent cricket. We've had different people out, different things have happened.
00:57But at this moment in time, and in tournament play, this is what you want. You want all your players in form at this time and ready to play.
01:06And we've got that luxury at the moment.
01:07In the last game, we saw Shreyas coming down the order a little bit. Number five, your middle order has been largely untested thanks to the brilliant seasons
01:15perhaps Simran and Priyansh you've been having. So does it all go well for the rest of the tournament heading into the playoffs?
01:20Yeah, I don't know if our middle order is untested. Our top order has been outstanding. Our captain has been great at number three.
01:29We've seen Shashank and Muweir on a number of occasions when they've been needed. They've come on and played really well.
01:35Shashank's got a couple of fifties. Muweir has done the same. So at this stage of the tournament, we're happy with where all our batters are at.
01:43The captain, that was just circumstances the other day. It was a brave effort to actually take the field with how his finger was.
01:52So he still played a role actually running around the boundary in the back half of the game.
01:56But yeah, 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.
02:04So yeah, expect him to be back up where he belongs. I can hear.
02:11And Mitch Owen, obviously, just a couple of weeks towards the end of the IPL for his first taste of the IPL.
02:18First game didn't go to plan, but that's understandable considering what kind of a player he is.
02:23How is he settling in and what are you looking forward to him in a crucial part of the tournament?
02:27I think the one thing Mitch brings is just sheer brute power. He's had over a week now to climatise what he's going to get.
02:38He understands conditions now. He's talking a lot to our Indian batsmen. He's talking a lot to the coaching staff.
02:44So expect Mitch with his next opportunity to play the way we want him to play. He's not going to change his game.
02:51He's one of those players where you have the luxury that can turn a game in ten balls. And that's the mindset we want Mitch going in with.
02:59As I said before, he's had a really good probably over a week now to get used to the conditions.
03:04Things are a bit rushed to start with, but he's in a good spot.
03:09Yes sir, you had a look at the wicket and after having a look at it, what do you think is the ideal score you would look for to score on this ground to prove to be a match result?
03:24Yeah, I think what we've seen at this venue has been a high scoring. We've seen that the other night.
03:30When we got 200, especially after losing the wickets we did earlier, it showed some really consistent bounces, consistent the right way through.
03:40And I think the trend of the IPL has been 185-200 scores have been the norm and I don't see here being any different.
03:50Brad, you qualified for the playoffs after a long gap of 11 years. But you must be eyeing the top two spots so that you get extra chance in the qualifiers and play the final.
04:01Yeah, it's good from outside that we've qualified. But we spoke to the group some time ago about playing the game and the style of game that we want to play.
04:12And we've got some clear goals where we want to finish at the end. And I think you're going to see that up over the next couple of games.
04:21Tournament play is about getting better as the tournament goes on. And I think what we've done really well is as our players are starting to get better, the deeper the tournament goes.
04:31So you want to finish as high as you possibly can in the tournament. It's good for the organization to qualify because the work that's gone on, not only in the playing group and the coach,
04:42but all behind the scenes to get this group to where they are.
04:46Hello, Brad. You won the last match here. So what do you think about tomorrow match and the team combination same or change for tomorrow match?
04:57I think the luxury we have with our combination now, we've got everyone to pick from.
05:02We've got players, high quality players that have just come back in. And the guys that have been in there are performing.
05:10And as I said, tournament play is about making sure you've got everyone fit and firing at the back end of the tournament and you're playing the style of game you want when it counts.
05:20And I think at the moment we've got the luxury where we can go with a couple of different combinations.
05:25And what I'm liking at the moment, all the players are hungry to play. They're hungry to get out on the field.
05:31Training is ultra competitive. And that's where you want your group to be at this stage.
05:36So it gives the coaches and selectors options when they're selecting the team.
05:42On seriousness injury, how is he recovering and will we see him as a captain tomorrow?
05:47Yep. He's recovered well. He had a good hit yesterday. He's a pretty tough character. And he sets pretty high standards.
05:59Not only for him, but for the team. And the one thing, it'll be hard not to get him out there. So we expect him to be fit.
