Sunrisers Hyderabad are lying a lowly seventh with eight points in the IPL cricket tournament but head coach Tom Moody is not disheartened by the dismal scenario and said on Wednesday that the team can make it to the play-offs by winning four out of their next five games.
Sunrisers Hyderabad are lying a lowly seventh with eight points in the IPL cricket tournament but head coach Tom Moody is not disheartened by the dismal scenario and said on Wednesday that the team can make it to the play-offs by winning four out of their next five games.
"We have got five games left. Realistically speaking, if we win three or four out of five then we have got a good chance," said Moody ahead of Thursday's game against second-placed Rajasthan Royals who need just one win from their remaining three matches to advance to the next stage.
"We were in a similar position last year as well where we are now, where our destiny is in our hands with five games left and we are playing some of the opponents that we are challenging for the final four spot. So it is a tight competition. Every single game from this point is going to be critical and its going to have a real shift in the table," explained the Australian coach.
"I think last year (the scenario) was pretty similar. Lots of teams are well balanced and so everyone has got an opportunity to find themselves in the top four. Probably the KXIP are the ones that have fallen a wayside a little bit," Moody added.
Moody said similar to his team, which depend on the opening combine of captain David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan to get going, other teams too faced the same dilemma.
"I think every team in the tournament is dependent on their openers. The team that we are playing tomorrow (Rajasthan Royals) with (Ajinkya) Rahane and (Shane) Watson hold the key to their campaign. You knock out both of those guys early on, you expose Rajasthan Royals.
"It's no different with KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders). You knock out Gautam Gambhir or Robin Uthappa and you right into the thick of it," he said. Moody, however, conceded that the middle-order spots in his team were yet to be cemented.
"We haven't absolutely nailed our middle order as well as we like and I see that as more of an opportunity than a concern in a tournament like this. We have got an assured window to gain momentum and gain confidence as a team and as individuals," he declared.
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