Lucknow Super Giants are feeling the heat in the IPL this season. With just two wins from six matches, LSG are just one place above bottom-placed Kolkata Knight Riders in the points table. However, LSG bowling coach Bharat Arun doesn’t seem too concerned about their sub-par show and hopes the team will bounce back in the matches ahead. Excerpts from the interview
Your team conceded more than 250 runs against Punjab Kings. What exactly went wrong with LSG?
I won’t read too much into that one game. Our bowling team did really well in previous matches. Sometimes a game like this can happen. At certain stages, the ball selection may not have been ideal either. But there is no major reason to worry as our bowlers are good enough to make a strong comeback. You have seen in previous matches that our bowlers have executed our plans very well. These things can happen. Sport is also about failure and mainly about how strongly you react to it. This determines what kind of athlete you are.
Did the lack of early wickets create too much pressure in the middle overs?
We got an early goal but after that their batsmen played very well. Our ball selection wasn’t great in the Powerplay and that’s something we can improve on. If you play poorly, it’s a bigger problem. But when it comes to making the right decisions, it can definitely be fixed in the upcoming matches.
You failed to take advantage of home advantage. Are the conditions not right for your attack?
No, I don’t think so. If you look at it, our bowling has been quite good at home. It’s more that our batting is one good game away from really clicking. Even in the Punjab game, despite the loss, it was positive that our batsmen came close to 200. That is a boost for us and I am sure the batting group would take confidence from this effort.
How do you manage the balance between being an overseas and an Indian bowler?
Our bowling attack is predominantly Indian. In fact, apart from Anrich Nortje who got injured and came back, we didn’t really have any foreign presence in the bowling group. But this is a very exciting Indian bowling unit and we have a lot of faith in them.
Which phase of the innings are you most concerned about right now: power play, mid-range or death?
I can’t say exactly what the data says right now, but we are aware of the areas we need to address. We’ve already reversed the bowling roles and it worked pretty well except for one game. So this is not a major problem for us at this stage.
