08 May,2011 08:38 AM IST | | Sai Mohan
Kochi skipper Jayawardene hopes Bangalore boy Kumar will deliver against RCB at Chinnaswamy
Kochi Tuskers Kerala are undergoing an erratic journey in their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) season. From chasing 183 against Mumbai Indians, to getting shot out for 74 by Deccan Chargers, Mahela Jayawardene's side has seen it all.
Kochi Tuskers' R Vinay celebrates the wicket of Delhi Daredevils' Yogesh
Nagar during their IPL match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Delhi recently. Pic/afp
On Sunday, Kochi play Royal Challengers Bangalore at thee Chinnaswamy Stadium needing to win at least three of their next four games to remain in contention for the playoffs.
Skipper, Jayawardene reckons poor pitches, especially at home, have influenced their sixth position in the points table. "I am not making an excuse but we have played on some really mediocre wickets in the last few games. The sort of wickets that as a batting unit, we need to scrap for runs, and that's not a good scenario... it's a really tough challenge. Even if we score 90 or a 120 we need to keep fighting," Jayawardene told reporters on the eve of the game.
Tuskers lost three back-to-back games in the last week of April, before bouncing back with consecutive wins against Delhi and Kolkata.
"Despite all that, we won our last two games, and can be proud of that. Ours is a young team and took some time to settle down. No one gave us a real chance so I told the boys: 'let us enjoy our cricket, and most importantly, enjoy tough situations more than our oppositions'. We want to leave an impression on this tournament," added Jayawardene.
Bangalore and Kochi kicked off their season with a clash on April 9 that the latter won by 6 wickets. Chasing 162, AB de Villiers and Co romped home with eight balls to spare.
Jayawardene hoped local boy Vinay Kumar would play a big role for his side, "As a local boy, who knows the conditions, Vinay brings in lots of experience, and we'd be hoping to get some insights on the pitch ahead of the game. He is a very smart operator and did well in these conditions as a Bangalore player in the first three seasons," before stressing on the Gayle factor: "We need to take that into account (Gayle's form)," he concluded.
