‘Lost because of dropped catches’: PBKS assistant coach’s honest admission after RCB defeat

After Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered elimination from IPL 2024 following a 60-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), assistant coach Brad Haddin admitted that “missed catches cost his team the match”. Punjab had a tough day on the field on Thursday night, with three dropped catches in the first five overs, two from Virat Kohli at 0 and 10, and one from Rajat Patidar when he was batting at 0. While Kohli scored 92 runs in the match, Patidar scored 55.

After deciding to bowl first, Harshal Patel’s form with the ball continued as he scalped three big wickets and debutant Vidhwath Kaverappa also managed to score two as RCB posted a huge total of 241/7 with Virat Kohli scoring 92 off 47 .

Chasing 242, Rilee Rossouw smashed a 27-ball 61 while Shashank Singh hit 37 runs off 19 balls. But a flurry of wickets in the middle of the over proved costly and Punjab were bowled out for 181. Losing the encounter by 60 runs, the Kings missed out on the playoffs.

“We 100 percent lost the match because of dropped catches. If we look at the game, we dropped two guys for a duck and they both scored big runs. That’s where the game was lost. There wasn’t much difference in the batting and bowling of both teams cost us the game,” Haddin said at the post-game presentation ceremony.

After the loss, PBKS focused on the positive aspects of the season and hope to finish the tournament on a good note with two matches remaining.

“It’s disappointing. But it shouldn’t be a difficult job to motivate the boys. This is one of the top competitions in the world. It’s a great opportunity to showcase your skills. See Shashank Singh and what he did in the tournament. Players have to see both remaining games as an opportunity and take what happened personally and find a way to reverse the result and finish the season on a good note,” he said.

Speaking about Kagiso Rabada’s absence from the XI, Haddin revealed that the Proteas pacer was unwell. “Kagiso Rabada was not well today. That’s why he wasn’t called up to the team,” Haddin said.

Stand-in captain Sam Curran also spoke at the post-match presentation ceremony and said his team will focus on the positive aspects of the season and continue to work hard.

“Lots of positive signs throughout the season, but unfortunately not enough to get over the line. We knew we would have the best team for the rest of the tournament and we feel devastated for the team. We have to keep our heads up, keep learning and improving. The ups and downs have been quite difficult, but we have to keep learning and working hard”, he concluded.

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