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Bailey cautiously optimistic after King XI's wonderful start

Bailey cautiously optimistic after King XI's wonderful start

Kings XI Punjab’s confidence may be sky-high after two sensational wins, but captain George Bailey remains grounded as they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Riding on whirlwind knocks from Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, Punjab successfully chased targets of 206 and 192 against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, but in Hyderabad, they face arguably one of the finest bowling attacks in this edition’s Indian Premier League.

The Shikhar Dhawan-led Sunrisers lost their opener after an inept batting display, but their bowlers, led by the inimitable Dale Steyn, still managed to make a match out of it against Rajasthan despite defending a meagre total of 133.

The two wins, achieved with more than an over to spare, has given Punjab the tag of ‘the team to beat’, but Bailey was cautious on two counts – their own bowling effort, and that of their opponents.

On the eve of the match, the Australian said: “If we are not scoring the runs, it is hard to know what a good bowling score is, because both matches have been such high-scoring ones. I do know there are things that we can improve with our bowling, but it’s been a challenge to work out what a good score is because both have been very good batting wickets.

“I guess we will start to learn more about that over the next couple of games, but ideally, you don’t want to be chasing 200 every time you bat.”

Apart from the express pace of Steyn, Hyderabad also have the wily Indian opening bowler Bhuwaneshwar Kumar - who is improving his skills with every Twenty20 match he plays - and leg-spinner Amit Mishra.

On the threat posed by the Sunrisers, Bailey said: “I think not just their bowling, but their batting is very strong too. I think they are a very well-balanced team.

“We are very wary of their bowling. They have no weak links.”

Bailey was also hopeful that his own trump card, Mitchell Johnson, would be a huge factor. The Australian is making a comeback after recovering from a toe injury, and was nowhere near the searing pace that made the England and South African batsmen hop, skip and jump in the last two Test series.

“I don’t think he is taking it easy, but it will take him a bit of time to get into his rhythm,” said the skipper. “I certainly thought his last couple of overs last night, he started hitting his straps. We will continue to see him improve, certainly as he continues to get his match fitness back.”


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