Punjab Kings (PBKS) assistant coach Brad Haddin has little doubt that the fighting win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has instilled a lot of confidence in players but said they should strive to get better as this season's IPL is nearing its half-way stage.
The Shreyas Iyer-led side bundled out KKR for 95 after they were bowled out for 111 at Mullanpur on Tuesday.
"The players started to believe that they could win from any situation. I reckon that is really important as you go deeper into the tournament," said Haddin on the eve of their away match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
But for Haddin, it's a mere starting point as he wanted to see more improvement in his squad.
"It was a special win. But we're at the stage in the tournament where you've got to make sure you're getting better and better each game. Our wins are starting to become really important with the way the points table is congested.
"So, for us, it's about just building on a little bit of momentum and playing some really brave cricket," he said.
Haddin was proud that the Punjab side is filled with some really explosive batting talents and hoped that they can continue to keep a clear head in crunch situations.
"We've got a really dynamic batting line-up. They all know their role individually and they can take the game away from the opposition. But when they go out there, it's about clearing the head and executing (the plans).
"You've got to be brave to go deep in this tournament and that's the mindset we want the players to have all the time," said the Australian.
Haddin said playing on some bowler-friendly pitches will help batters to develop their game awareness and understanding of various conditions.
"I think the one thing that came out of that (playing on sticky decks) is understanding conditions. The week was probably different to what we've seen throughout the IPL. You had a bit on offer for the bowlers.
"The one thing we stressed to the playing group is to be really clear in your plan and to take the game as deep as you can. To make sure our players understand that you've got to play the game deeper and that's one thing we talked about," he added.
Win The M Chinnaswamy surface has been unusually favouring bowlers more of late, and RCB pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar asserted the need to understand the pitch properly.
"Yes, we know Chinnaswamy is known for batting, but look at the wicket, it is not the same as it used to be.
"I don't know the reason, but yes, we will bowl or bat for the first few overs and then see how the wicket will play and then we will decide the things," he said in the pre-match press conference.
The veteran pacer said he has not been using saliva to shine the ball despite the lifting of the ban.
"I forgot that I can use saliva. Yesterday when the staff told me, I didn't know that I have to use it.
"I am not sure if it will help or not, but now that I remember, definitely in tomorrow's match I will put some saliva and see if it helps or not," he said.
Bhuvneshwar, a former Sunrisers Hyderabad captain himself, lauded RCB leader Rajat Patidar for keeping the team together.
"The best thing is that he's been calm. That's what he needed, especially in this format. When you lose a match, the easy thing is to get panicked.
"We lost two matches, but he's been the same whether we won or we lost. So, he's been handling everything very well such as bowling changes. He's been superb," he added.
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