IPL 2016: David Miller says team is positive ahead of clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain David Miller asked his team to stay positive and focus on Saturday's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), at a pre-match press conference on Friday.
"Mood in the camp is very good. We are trying to remain positive at all times, win or lose. We have had one and half days off. Good to be in Hyderabad. The boys are ready," Miller said
KXIP are at the bottom of the table, with two points from four matches, with their only victory being against Rising Pune Supergiants at Mohali.
"Obviously, we have not had the greatest of the starts. The table is pretty tight at the moment. But, we do want to win tomorrow and change a lot of things. We have to stay positive and ready for the battle.
"We are just going to stay mentally strong and make sure that we do our basics right. Keep it simple and no more things," he said.
With Shaun Marsh regaining his form in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, the Australian has been one of the positives for the side, Miller felt. "There has been few positives. We always take negatives as well. But it is good to see Shaun Marsh back among runs. He has been a very successful run-scorer for us in the past."
Also read: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab, Live Cricket Score & Ball by Ball Commentary of Indian Premier League 2016
However, losing their first two games of the season against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, SRH came back positively in their next matches by registering wins against Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions. They gave GL their first defeat of the season on April 21 at Rajkot.
As for KXIP, openers Manan Vohra and Murali Vijay put up a constructive partnership in the match against GL and RPSG. The skipper was also all praises for his teammate Vohra who made a 33- ball 51 and was instrumental in giving KXIP their first victory this season.
Miller, however, is yet to make his mark this edition, scoring only 37 runs in four matches.
"Of course, we did not start too well with the ball, but finished well. We pulled that back very nicely, got a few wickets. That's very positive. Tomorrow, we are going to start really well be with bat or ball. Making the first punch and like I said, just keeping things very simple and working on the basics," the skipper said.
He also added that young Armaan Jafar, a part of the KXIP squad, is a fantastic player who can do a lot of things during the tournament.