Mohali, Sep 3 (IANS) Amritsar Soormas head coach Sandeep Sawal has credited a renewed sense of unity and belief within the squad for the team’s first victory of the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League 2026, as the side prepares to face Bathinda Royals at the I.S. Bindra Stadium on Thursday.
The Soormas enter the contest after opening their campaign with two defeats before responding with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Fazilka Falcons. The result earned Amritsar their first points of the tournament and has given the team an opportunity to build momentum as the league moves forward.
Sawal revealed that the coaching staff and players had addressed the difficult start directly, with the group making a collective commitment before taking the field against Fazilka.
“After losing our first two matches, it was important for the players to come together, believe in themselves and be clear about what we wanted to achieve on the field. So, we wrote ‘We will win’ on the board and asked everyone who believed in it to stand together. Every player agreed, and that belief translated onto the field. We went out there with one mindset, and we got the win.”
The response was emphatic. Chasing against Fazilka, Amritsar were led by Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 88 off 48 balls, while Abhay Choudhary remained not out on 58 from 35 deliveries as the Soormas completed a seven-wicket win.
Dhir’s performances have made him the player to watch in the Amritsar line-up. The batter currently leads the Orange Cap race with 252 runs from three matches and will once again be central to the team’s hopes against Bathinda.
Captain Abhishek Sharma will be expected to provide his usual attacking intent at the top, while Choudhary will look to carry forward the confidence gained from his match-winning contribution in the previous outing.
Amritsar also have Sahaj Dhawan, Jashanpreet Singh Sidhu and Mayank Markande among the players capable of influencing the contest as they seek a second successive victory.
Bathinda Royals, meanwhile, will present another significant challenge, with Uday Saharan, Gurnoor Brar, Harnoor Singh, Gourav Choudhary and Ashwani Kumar forming part of a competitive unit.
For the Soormas, though, the immediate objective is straightforward: ensure that their breakthrough victory does not remain an isolated result.
Having found a formula built around collective belief and clarity of purpose, Sawal’s side will now look to translate that confidence into another strong performance when they take on Bathinda Royals in Mohali.
—IANS
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