Confident of regaining momentum: Marsh

CHENNAI: The two fresh franchisees of this edition —Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors India—had contrasting fortunes so far. While KTK recovered from a two-match slump to blow away the strongest, Pune Warriors stumbled to back-to-back defeats after a perfect start.

But the-skilled Pune Warriors would brace for a riposte, so felt coach Geoff Marsh. “We had a great start to the championship, winning the first two matches. We lost the third, which we could have won against Mumbai after having them on the mat at 16 for three. You can’t afford to do that against a team like Mumbai,” he pointed out.

He realises the requirement to regain the winning momentum, a buzzword in T20. “The way this IPL is going, every match is important. We have sorted out a couple of areas of concern, where we had put ourselves down. But we are taking the match positively and are confident of regaining our momentum,” he said.

But since every side has undergone massive revamps, momentum is tough to confound. “All teams are even, and that’s the reason why we are seeing a lot of close matches. All franchisees have done a lot of homework before picking their players and hence they have players of all sorts—bowlers, batsmen and all-rounders — in the team. All sides have depth, and players who have the ability to change matches,” said Marsh.

Meanwhile, they are bolstered by the return of Manish Pandey, who was handed a four-match ban for asking a franchise for more money than uncapped Indian players were entitled to. “It’s good news that he will be ready for the next match. He is a good T20 player and a good fielder. We will decide about his inclusion this evening,” he said.

Marsh is unfazed by Chepauk’s bowler-friendly reputation. “It’s hard to predict a good total. All you can do is to go by the book of averages. Then, the Kotla wicket hasn’t been great for batting in the last couple of years. But the surface for Sunday’s match was fantastic. So it’s up to the first ball of match, and opening bowlers and batsmen. It will be about a lot of things, how well we bat and how well we bowl, how well we field, and not just the pitch that determines a game. I’m sure both teams will play positively,” he said.

On the sidelines, he is happy about his son’s purple patch. “Like every father, I’m happy for his form. We had him cheaply in our last match against them. We will be happy to get him early next time as well,” he said.


Keywords: Latest sports news, cricket news, IPL, football news