Punjab Kings face pressure after five straight IPL defeats

Punjab Kings set the early pace in the Indian Premier League by going seven matches unbeaten, but a run ​of five straight defeats has left their playoff hopes ‌in the balance and assistant coach Brad Haddin concedes they have failed to deal with the pressure. Tilak Varma’s match-winning knock powered the Mumbai Indians to ​a six-wicket win on Thursday and left Punjab likely ​needing wins over Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super ⁠Giants in their final two games to stay in ​contention for a playoff spot. “We just haven’t been able to handle ​the pressure in the last few defeats. We haven’t played our best cricket when we need to, which has been ​disappointing. We are as disappointed as you guys are with ​the way we started the tournament and where we are now. The one thing ‌that ⁠does come out of it is we’ve got to find a way to get out of it. There’s no hiding that we’ve got to play better,” Haddin told reporters on Thursday. Punjab’s slump has raised questions about ​consistency and squad ​fitness, but ⁠Haddin said the players had to focus on winning and block everything else out. “You’ve got to ​deal with everything outside and make sure when ​you get ⁠across that line, you’re in the right headspace to play, and that’s exactly what we need to do. Now there’s ⁠no ​talking about what if. We have to ​find a way to get the good that we’ve had,” he added. Punjab next plays Bengaluru ​on Sunday.