Kochi Tuskers Kerala has shed its rookie tag and has sprung a few surprises in the Indian Premier League and skipper Mahela Jayawardene wants his squad to continue in a similar vein.
“No one gave us a chance, so I told the boys: ‘let us enjoy the tough situations more than the other team.' We have done well,” Jayawardene said ahead of Sunday's clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The captain drew heart from the performance of Kerala players like Prashanth Parameswaran and Raiphi Vincent Gomez in the last few games. “The local players are doing well for us. Prashanth Parameswaran held his nerve in big matches. We all know that Raiphi Vincent Gomez has the talent and he has done well,” Jayawardene said.
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In R. Vinay Kumar, Kochi Tuskers has a Karnataka player who is well aware of the conditions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. “Vinay can give us insights about the pitch, but then, even the RCB squad has changed tremendously and we need to plan for that. Chris Gayle has done very well and we need to take that into account,” Jayawardene said.
Incidentally Kochi Tuskers opened its campaign at home with its match against RCB on April 9.
“Our first match was against RCB. It was a close match and unfortunately we lost. After that we made a few changes and have things under control. RCB is a strong side but we hope to do well as we had good results against Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders,” Jayawardene said.
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The Kochi Tuskers' captain expressed dismay over the recent pitches on which his team played. “I am not making an excuse, but in our last few games we have played on some mediocre wickets and then you have to scrap for the runs. It is a challenge and we need to adapt. Even if we score 90 or a 120 we need to fight back. On good tracks we have done well against strong teams — be it Delhi or Kolkata,” he said.
Jayawardene emphasised that the team had to keep winning. “We need to win at least three of the next four games to stay in contention for the play-offs. We prefer that approach rather than bank on other teams' performances to help us through,” he said.