S Sreesanth has irked quite a few with his on-field antics but Kochi Tuskers Kerala skipper Mahela Jayawardene is at ease with the pacer’s behaviour so far in the IPL, saying the temperamental player has mellowed down a bit.
“Honestly, he (Sreesanth) has been ok. He has toned down a bit. We did not play him in a few games because of conditions but he bowled brilliantly in the last two games. Sometimes, you need to leave him to be a little aggressive and at times you need to talk to him,” Jayawardene said of the maverick Kerala pacer after his side’s seven-wicket win over the Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozeshah Kotla here last night.
With this win, Kochi jumped to sixth in the table with eight points from nine games, and Jayawardene hoped this victory brings some consistency in his side’s performance.
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“We would love to have that consistency in Twenty20 but if you see we have lost some games in the last two overs. Hopefully, with this win we can get some momentum,” the Sri Lankan said.
After playing their last match on a low and slow Nehru Stadium pitch at home, he heaped praise on the track here.
“The Kochi wicket was tough for us in spite of being the home team. But this was a good wicket. We thought 160 was a par score.”
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Jayawardene lauded his bowlers for restricting Daredevils to a mediocre 140 for six on a batsmen-friendly wicket. “Our guys bowled to a good plan which we couldn’t do in Kochi.”
The Kochi skipper said his counterpart Virender Sehwag’s early dismissal was vital to his side’s success.
He also praised left-arm pacer Prasanth Parameswaran (2/29) for his impressive performance on debut, which includes the vital wicket of Sehwag.
“Credit to Prasanth. He bowled a good angle to Viru. It was a gamble I took (and) that paid off. We knew we need to get him (Sehwag) early,” Jayawardene said.