Connolly struck an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls and held his nerve in a chase of 163 after PBKS suffered a middle-order wobble against Gujarat Titans in New Chandigarh. \u201cWe\u2019ve known about Cooper Connolly in Australia for some time. We were pretty keen to get him early in the auction and spoke early in our preparation about bringing him in before everyone could get a real look at how good he was. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think everyone got a taste of the maturity he has with the bat and saw the way he controlled the innings in the first game. It was his first IPL game under pressure with things going on around him, but we\u2019ve known about that ability for a long time, and I think everyone got the opportunity to see his skills,\u201d said Haddin in the pre-match press conference. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Haddin also provided a fitness update on skipper Shreyas Iyer, who injured his hand in the previous match after being hit by a shot from Connolly. \u201cThere\u2019s no break (in the bone), which is a good thing. Now it\u2019s just about getting the swelling down and getting the movement back in the hand, so he should be right for tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Haddin said PBKS had worked hard in the preparation period to build flexibility in their squad and adapt to varying pitches. \u201cWe\u2019ve got great flexibility in our squad. We\u2019ve spent a lot of time over the last two years trying to get that balance right so we can cover different surfaces in the IPL.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On assessing the conditions at Chepauk, where the pitch\u2019s nature is flat, Haddin said, \u201cWe\u2019ll look at all the numbers around the surface here. There\u2019s a lot of data on how it plays and whether you need to play an extra spinner. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe wicket has become a bit flatter over time, and there\u2019s more grass on it at the moment than we\u2019ve seen previously, so we\u2019ll probably make a judgment call after training today. But as I said before, we\u2019re very lucky with the flexibility in our squad, so we\u2019re not too worried about what surface we\u2019ll get.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n
On pacer Xavier Bartlett\u2019s progress, Haddin noted his evolution as both a bowler and lower-order batter. \u201cIf you look closely at Xavier Bartlett\u2019s game, he\u2019s improved a lot over the last 12 months. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe wicket has become a bit flatter over time, and there\u2019s more grass on it at the moment than we\u2019ve seen previously, so we\u2019ll probably make a judgment call after training today. But as I said before, we\u2019re very lucky with the flexibility in our squad, so we\u2019re not too worried about what surface we\u2019ll get.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Haddin signed off by saying PBKS was happy to get off the mark in the tournament with a win. \u201cWe\u2019re very happy. It\u2019s important to get your tournament started in the right way. There\u2019s room for improvement in what we did in the first game, but we\u2019re very pleased with the way the game panned out in the end.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n