Punjab Kings will face Lucknow Super Giants in their final league match on May 23.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) are no longer in complete control of their playoff qualification after losing six straight games. They must defeat the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their last league-stage match and hope for other favorable outcomes.
On the eve of the match against LSG, PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting acknowledged that they haven't performed at their best but attributed their defeats to narrow margins.
"We were exceptional for our first seven or six games. Then we had that washout against Kolkata Knight Riders, and I think from that moment on we've just been a little bit off, and as I said, they're small things. There are one or two balls, or they're over here and there; quite conceivably, we could have won another three or four games, but we've only got ourselves to blame for that.
We're in the situation that we're in as a result of not playing at our best over the last few weeks, but we've also got a very good idea of what our best cricket looks like and what it is and what we have to do to win tomorrow, and that's all we can focus on,” Ponting was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
LSG comes into the game with nothing to lose, having been the first team to be eliminated from the playoff race. However, Ponting is aware that LSG has won three of their last four games and hence wants PBKS to be "fearless and daring."
“I mean, they, Lucknow, going into tomorrow, apart from probably personal pride and pride for the franchise's performance, have really got nothing else to lose, so teams can be dangerous in that way. But we understand that, we know that, and that's the way that I want my boys to play as well.
I want us to be fearless, and I want us to be daring. I want us to take the game on and not be worried about what might happen, the negative things that might happen in the game. It's really important we focus on the positive things and what you can do as an individual player to make an impact on the game there and then,” he added.
Despite being in a precarious position, PBKS is trying to stave off anxiety.
"The atmospheres remain very positive and very relaxed. I think the worst thing you can do in a situation like this is panic and worry about what tomorrow brings. You've just got to stick to what you know has worked for you in the past as a player and certainly as a coach and a group of coaches; that's exactly what we've done. We've done our best to make sure that the environment's stayed very positive and very relaxed and let the players just go about getting themselves prepared and ready for a game," the PBKS head coach signed off.