In an action-packed tournament like the IPL where matches come thick and fast, teams hardly have time to rest on glory or dwell on defeats.

Hence, it did not come as a surprise when Punjab Kings spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule emphasised that the struggling side should not “brood over” recent losses.

“Obviously, everyone is disappointed, but we cannot overthink and overanalyse. In a couple of days’ time, we will be playing Mumbai Indians here (on Thursday). It is important to take the learnings from this game,” Bahutule said after Delhi Capitals handed PBKS its fourth defeat on the bounce on Monday.

“We will certainly look into phases of our bowling and the fielding part. We almost had the game [in the bag], but we did not execute the skills in the last five overs. If we had taken the two catches, DC may not have reached the target,” he added.

Although nothing seems to be going right for Kings, Bahutule remained positive about Shreyas Iyer and his men turning the corner.

“We are still in the hunt to qualify [for the playoffs]. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs. We have to put these (losses) behind us and move ahead,” said Bahutule.

Madhav was in the ‘zone’

Among those who rubbed salt into the wound was young Capitals all-rounder Madhav Tiwari. The 22-year-old, making his first appearance of the season, crucially struck twice with the ball before acing the chase with an unbeaten eight-ball 18.

“I just tried to control my nerves and do the basics well (while batting). I was in the zone and wanted to win. We (Ashutosh Sharma and him) had a clear understanding of what was needed. The ball was coming onto the bat nicely, and we felt quite comfortable.”

The 211-run pursuit was indeed comfortable in the end.

Dropped catches, a missed stumping and costly reprieves for Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan ultimately proved decisive in Punjab Kings’ 33-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday. Reflecting on the lapses, PBKS spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said the team would reassess its field setups with a ‘right place, right man’ approach.

“Fielding under lights is not easy because the ball comes out from the lights as well as from the crowd. And you know, the higher it goes, obviously, it’s going to fall as quickly as possible, and gravity will obviously take its toll.

“It’s important that we go back and reflect on things. You cannot pick one and say, ‘This is the guy who’s been doing it,’ because the values created by Ricky (Head Coach Ricky Ponting) are that we support each other and back each other.”

He also suggested the errors may have stemmed from mounting mental pressure.

“Sometimes a player is not getting run, a bowler might be getting hit and players might drop catches. These can create doubts in the mind about whether they’re being too anxious or allowing (pressure) to creep in.”

Bahutule heaped praise on Cooper Connolly for his blistering, unbeaten century.

“He is very positive and has great potential. He’ll definitely play for a long period for Australia, a good all-rounder in the making, and a fabulous fielder with a good head on his shoulders. We knew at some stage [today that] it was a losing cause, but he just made sure that the momentum is on and saw how we can get closer to the total. Things like these also help us in our net run-rate.”