PBKS’s Shashank Singh addressing the pre-match press conference. | Photo Credit: PTI

“Our bowling unit wants to dominate not only tomorrow’s [Saturday] match but also all the upcoming matches.”

This one line from Punjab Kings batter Shashank Singh easily conveys the confidence the team has in its bowling line-up, which next faces the batting might of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“We are backing our strength. The present situation is that our bowlers are playing very well. Their batting order is very good, but we have a very good attack with the likes of Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen in our ranks. So, we will prefer to think about our strengths and not theirs,” Shashank said during the pre-match press conference here on Friday.

READ | Batting units in the spotlight as Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad meet

PBKS used up 19.1 overs and seven wickets while chasing down 163 against Gujarat Titans the last time it played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium. The hosts come into this contest without a great record, both at this ground (4-7) and against their opponent (7-17).

“We don’t think about stats. Right now, we are looking at trying to impress each other in our team.”

“We don’t have the best of records in home conditions over the past couple of years. But again, we could have won the first match convincingly this season. We made some mistakes in the middle overs, which led to that game going down to the wire… as humans, you make errors and learn from them. In a way, it was good that the first match challenged us,” Shashank added.

Published on Apr 10, 2026