Cuttack: Having lost three matches on the trot in Indian Premier League 2010, Kings XI Punjab skipper Kumar Sangakkara on Friday said that his teams needs to pull up their socks and try to win most of the matches left in the tournament.
Sangakkara’s men fell short by six runs while chasing 170 at Barabati stadium against Deccan Chargers with the top order failing to provide any resistance.
On what went wrong against Deccan Chargers
Oh…we just didn’t bat well in the first six overs. I think it was not the number of runs we scored in the first six over but the wickets we lost hurt us. And that is one thing we don’t expect considering the experienced top order we have. I think we bowled and fielded pretty well. We came back strongly after they raced off to 100 runs off just 10 overs but we pulled them back. While chasing we just fell apart till Irfan [Pathan] played that magnificent knock to get us so close to victory.
On the top order failing
Yeah we batted well in the last game [against Royal Challengers Bangalore]. We had long partnerships at the top and that was the key. But unfortunately today no one in the top order got off to a start. [Ravi] Bopara batted well and it was just Irfan who stood up to the challenge.
On Irfan Pathan’s 60 off 29 balls
Well it was magnificent. Irfan bowled well today and he is an all-rounder and today he just showed us what he is capable of with the bat. He is a competitor and he just showed that to us. We were too far away from the target but he got us close
On his plans for a comeback
We have had three losses and now there 11 matches to go. So we need to buckle up and win as many as we can. We have got the ability to do that. We just need to translate into match-winning performances.
On what his batsmen need to do to change the fortunes of the team
Yeah, definitely we need to step up our performances. I have got two outings now and should take more responsibility. The last game is the ideal way we should have batted. So we need to bat the way we did against Bangalore.
On his team’s morale and Preity Zinta
Well the morale of the team is pretty good. In Twenty20 cricket you’ve got to play hard as you can and turn it around. Like us, Preity is also disappointed because we have not been able to play to our potential.
On the match against Chennai Super Kings
Yeah maybe a couple of changes in the playing XI. We too have got a couple of left-handers who are batting pretty well. And then again we need to compete as long as we can. Like today we can get close.
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