Punjab Kings‘ pace bowling coach, James Hopes, did stress that they won’t underestimate what is probably going to be an April 30 clash in IPL 2025 against none other than the Chennai Super Kings. For him, teams who seemingly have nothing to lose can always pose a significant threat; thus, PBKS will remain on their toes against the squad led by the great MS Dhoni himself. CSK presently lies at the bottom of the table, having managed only 2 wins in 9 games, diminishing their hopes for a playoff berth.
Regardless of the favourite treatment being dished out to PBKS, Hopes remains clear that CSK is a bit unpredictable when it comes to less pressure. Yes, it is always risky playing against teams that don’t have anything to lose. They could really spoil your plans. We simply need to focus on what’s in front of us,” he said. “We know what is at stake after the next few weeks if we play well, but we must focus on the first ball tomorrow night and give it all we can.
Presently, PBKS are ranked fifth on the points scale. Their last game against KKR was washed away, and before that, they lost at their home ground to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Pumped up under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer to turn things around, the time is ripe.
It can also be considered and understood that when the game is up against the ones with whom they have played the least, many ups and downs are awaited. In many cases, it has been said that the match with the 5-time champion CSK would serve as good motivation for PBKS to pump in those brownie points. But already, captain MS Dhoni has expressed that the campaign might be coming to an end with the loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but batting coach Michael Hussey has made it very clear that the team is settled on finishing with these matches in mind. PBKS wll not be holding back at vital moments when their playoff chances seem to have narrowed; the team is still looking for its first IPL title.
