Kings XI Punjab coach hopes out-of-form skipper comes good against Sunrisers Hyderabad today
Kings XI Punjab coach Darren Lehman hopes his batsmen will come good in today’s game here against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The coach said that while the victory against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday has bolstered the team’s confidence, they need to play well against Sunrisers, who have eight points from five matches.
ADVERTISEMENT
KXIP skipper Adam Gilchrist
Punjab has won two out of four games but their batsmen, including captain Adam Gilchrist, have failed to click.
“That’s disappointing from batting group point of view. We started to better in the last game. Obviously in the first game we played really well. Two middle games we didn’t make enough runs,” said Lehman before his team had an intensive practice session under floodlights at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here yesterday.
“As a captain he has done really good job. Keeping has been fantastic. He need to make runs. He knows that. Hopefully he will get some tomorrow.”
Forty One-year-old Gilchrist has managed scores of 15, 9, 0, 7 in four matches, so far.
Back in Hyderabad
Lehman was happy to be back in Hyderabad where he served as the coach for Deccan Chargers, the previous franchise.
Hyderabad, who had a dramatic win against Pune Warriors India on Wednesday, were travelling and hence could not have any practice. The hosts won both the games at their home ground.
The Australian praised the Hyderabad and said it will be an interesting game.
“There are some good batters. We will have to try and keep those guys quite tomorrow night. They know pretty much how we do.
“We know how they play. It is going to be really interesting contest. It will be great for fans. They are good side. We have to play well,” he said.
Sanga’s wishlist
>> White tears the opposition apart
>> Batters put up a better show
>> Steyn bowls economically
>> Amit Mishra continues to mesmerise
>> Gilchrist’s poor run continues
Gilchrist’s wishlist
>> The top order worries come to an end
>> David Hussey plays a sublime knock
>> Dale Steyn goes for plenty
>> Cameron White goes early
>> Praveen Kumar makes early inroads
When they last met: Punjab won a last-ball thriller
The drama at Mohali on May 13 last year was at its best as Kings XI Punjab stunned Deccan Chargers Hyderabad with a last-ball win.
Opting to bat, Chargers piled on an imporing score of 190 with Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White scoring half tons. It seemed like Chargers had the game wrapped up with two early wickets but David Hussey had other ideas.
He blazed away to an unbeaten 65 off 35 balls. Fireworks at the end by Gurkreet Singh were equally important as he scored 29 not out off just 12 to pull off a victory from the jaws of defeat.u00a0
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
