Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody has heaped praise on opener Parthiv Patel for playing a
“mature innings”, which laid the foundation for their 30-run win over Kings XI Punjab and improved their chances of reaching the IPL semi-final.
“Today was Parthiv’s turn to put his hand up and hats off to him because it was a very very mature innings, a responsible innings and enabled us to get the total that we got. At one stage, we were staring down the barrel about 100-110,” Moody told reporters here after the match last night.
Patel’s 47-ball 61 guided Hyderabad to 150 for seven. In response, Punjab could manage only 120/9 on their home turf and were left with only a mathematical chance of reaching the play-offs.
Moody also praised his bowlers for adapting to the Mohali track, which he said played different to its known pace and bounce.
“There is very few second chances leading into the final stages and it is pleasing to walk away with a win,” Moody, who had once also coached KXIP, said.
Asked if the team was looking at net run-rates as it was behind the top-placed sides, he said, “look, we are not looking at net run rate. It’s about us winning the game of cricket. There is no point looking at what other teams are doing, whether they are winning or losing. We know what we need to do and keep winning as many games as possible. Anything beyond ten (wins) is going to be a bonus.”
Hyderabad have eight wins from 13 games while Punjab have managed just five from an equal number of games played.
On his team’s batting which has let them down on many occasions, Moody said, ”...it’s pretty obvious that our batting hasn’t been a strong point to this point in the tournament.
“But in saying that, what we have done well is show character and from situations of adversity, we have managed to bounce back.”
On Cameron White replacing Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara as captain for today’s game, Moody said “at the end of the day, we try to pick best combination.”
“Today, we fielded what we thought our best XI was and we are very lucky that we’ve got 2—3 players in White, (Darren) Sammy and Sangakkara, all international captains and having international experience.”
About the conditions in Mohali, which has been a familiar turf for him in the past, the former Punjab coach said it was not easy to play on.
”...the conditions are quite different from what we were expecting, the wicket was probably carrying a lot more moisture than what we expected,. It didn’t have the pace and carry that we have come to know in Mohali, where once the batsmen get in, we are talking of a 180 plus score,” he explained.
