IPL 2019 | Home form will be crucial for Kings XI Punjab, believes Craig McMillan
KXIP’s fielding coach Craig McMillan is of the belief that the performance at their home in Mohali will be important in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League. He also added that the PCA Stadium was their fortress in the previous season and the players are quite excited to play at there.
After a win against Rajasthan Royals and a loss against Kolkata Knight Riders in the two away games, Kings XI Punjab is playing their home game at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali today against Mumbai Indians. The Ravichandran Ashwin-led side had a brilliant outing at the venue last season and will want to continue like that in the 12th edition this year as well. Punjab’s fielding coach McMillan has a belief that pretty much like 2018, the team will do well at home and the performance there would matter a lot going ahead in the tournament.
“We are really looking forward to Saturday’s game because it is our first home match. Mohali was our fortress last year, we played some really good cricket here. Players are also excited to play here. We have been on the road the first two games,” McMillan told TOI.
“I think home form is going to be very crucial for us to go all the way in the tournament. We are definitely looking to consolidate our home advantage.”
The Punjab unit had landed into a controversy in their very first game when Jos Butler was Mankaded by Ravichandran Ashwin. However, the former Kiwi cricketer is of the opinion that the incident has not affected the morale of the side after that.
“I don’t think it has any impact. It is a long tournament. We have moved on from the first game very quickly. Yes, we didn’t get the ideal result in Kolkata because they played better than us.”