Need to keep the momentum going, says KXIP’s Sandeep

The much-needed win over Delhi Daredevils last night kept their hopes alive in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), and strugglers Kings XI Punjab pacer Sandeep Sharma said they now need to keep the momentum going to remain in contention for a top four spot.

Despite the nine-run win over Daredevils on Saturday, Kings XI are languishing at the bottom of the eight-team standings with just six points from nine games.

Kings XI will need to produce consistent performances in the rest of the league games to keep the team in the hunt. The Murali Vijay-led side will next play Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore 

here on Monday.

“T20 is all about momentum, when you have that you keep winning on a trot. We played good cricket in Kolkata. Prior to that we defeated Gujarat. I feel that now the momentum is back with us and our combination is right, our batsmen are making runs,” Sandeep said.

“We have played good cricket. Some matches were close, but we ended up on the losing side. “I feel we have found the right combination. Captain (Murali Vijay) knows how to use his bowlers and batting has also clicked now. (Glenn) Maxwell and (David) Miller were not in their prime form (at the start of the tournament) but now they are also making runs. So that is a positive sign,” he added. 

Sandeep was full of praise for his bowling colleagues for eking out the win with exceptional death 

bowling.

“It is a team game. We have been bowling well as a unit. I have bowled well, Mohit Sharma also has bowled very well. There is consistency in our bowling and hopefully we will continue that in rest of the tournament,” he said.

“When we scored 180 plus runs, we were confident that we can defend the total because our bowling attack has been good, especially the death bowling. When I came to bowl towards the end, there were lot of runs which the opposition had to make and there was no problem.”

He also praised Marcus Stoinis’ for his all-round show. The Australian first scored a well-made 52 off 44 balls and then scalped three wickets while defending the 182-run target.

“Stoinis is a unique player and he has adapted to Indian conditions well. He batted and bowled really very well and he is an asset for us,” said Sandeep.

The fast bowler said Kings XI are taking one game at a time without thinking much about the points table.