Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes that every game at this stage in the ongoing IPL is like a knock-out match.
“The competition has reached such a stage that you have to keep winning to steer clear of all the permutations like the net run-rate and other factors. For us, the objective is to win every game to avoid all these things,” said a confident Srikkanth ahead of Sunrisers’ game against Delhi Daredevils here on Saturday.
Guiding principles
“I hope that the three guiding principles — grit, self-belief and positive approach — will take us a long way in this IPL,” Srikkanth said.
“Yes, this is despite the indifferent batting so far. But, the positives from the last two games are that some of the key players like captain Kumar Sangakkara are peaking at the right time. Shikhar Dhawan has been outstanding and we hope he will continue his amazing batting in the big games ahead. Vihari has shown excellent temperament,” he said.
Reflecting on the Daredevils, Srikkanth said his team was aware of the big names in the rival line-up.
Confident
“We have a strategy in place for almost everyone which I cannot reveal now. We are confident of continuing our winning streak.”
“The pitch should be similar to the one we played on against Mumbai Indians. But, it is again a question of how you apply yourself on the given day on any pitch. Morale is really high after the convincing win against Mumbai,” he said.
Delhi Daredevils fast bowler Umesh Yadav commented that his team was determined to do its best.
“It is difficult to predict results and how things will shape up. We are taking it match by match,” he remarked.
“We have set small goals right now having not done as well as we should have in this IPL. At the same time we are not trying to put too much pressure on ourselves,” Yadav said.
The Delhi fast bowler also said that explosive batsman David Warner is likely to bat in the middle-order again.
Talking of his own showing so far in the IPL, Yadav admitted that it was a mixed bag. “I could have done better,” he said.
