Wasim Jaffer, the batting coach for the Punjab Kings (PBKS), claimed that their defeat to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2023 match on Friday, April 28, was simply one of those days when everything the opposition did worked out well.

Jaffer admitted that Punjab’s bowlers could have performed better while claiming that they had a bad day

In game 38 of the Indian Premier League (IPL), 2023 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, LSG crushed PBKS by 56 runs. Lucknow scored 257/5 on the board while batting first after losing the toss, which is the second-highest total in IPL history. Punjab’s response was to be all-out for 201 in 19+5 overs.

Jaffer lamented that their ball control was terrible and gave credit to the opposing batters in his analysis of the loss. He said the following during the presser following the game:

“The way of batting of the LSG batters that started in the powerplay, they didn’t just stop at all at any point of the game- Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stonis, Nicholas Pooran, everyone performed. It’s very challenging when someone plays that way. After the powerplay, they maintained their momentum. You could say that our bowling had a bad day. ”

He refrained from criticizing the bowlers but acknowledged that they could have bowled to the larger side of the boundary and varied their pace a little more. Jaffer stated:

“In challenging circumstances, our bowling was successfully defended three times. We could have, however, used a backup plan. We didn’t do that; instead, we used some slower balls and bowled in the bigger area.”

“However, we must give their batters credit; they batted brilliantly. It’s one of those days when everything goes your opponent’s way and you have no idea why. However, I think our bowlers will bounce back strongly. ”

On Friday against PBKS, Stoinis led all scorers for LSG with 72 off 40. Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran, and Kyle Mayers each scored 54 points off of 24 shots.

“Chasing will always be challenging when the opponent scores 257, according to Jaffer.” When asked if he thought Punjab’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss backfired, Jaffer responded: “that it is always simpler to make judgments in hindsight.”

Wasim Jaffer remarkably gives a statement in support of the choice to field first

“In retrospect, you could say that our strategy failed, but all IPL teams have a habit of bowling first after winning the toss. When we were rehearsing, there was some dew. But chasing will always be challenging when the opposition scores 257. We could’ve bowled more effectively. ”

Despite the defeat, Jaffer praised the young batsmen for helping Punjab reach 200 in the chase after losing captain Shikhar Dhawan for one.

He remarked: “You get all out for 120-130 a lot in such scenarios. Your net run rate is then impacted by it. In T20s, a loss of 50 runs is undoubtedly significant. But still doing well is scoring 200 runs. A plus was Atharva Taide, who was only in his third or fourth match.

“The match could have been on a different note if Jitesh Sharma had played as per his standards and if we could have managed to keep the Lucknow batters to 220-230, but all of this is speculation at this point. ”

Taide led the way for Punjab with 66 off 36, and Jitesh Sharma contributed with a cameo of 24 off 10 balls.