Manan Vohra has lots of potential, but needs to be consistent: Mithun Manhas

Kings XI Punjab assistant coach Mithun Manhas is upbeat about his side’s chances, despite three defeats on the bounce. Manhas said that the format of the IPL is such, that a win can turn the fortunes of a team.

Punjab now hosts Mumbai Indians on Thursday and Manhas spoke at the press conference ahead of the game. Punjab succumbed to a heartbreaking defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, despite heroics from their opener Manan Vohra who scored a magnificent 95. Sunrisers’ five-run win was largely due to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s career best 5/19. Vohra was the lone warrior in Punjab’s otherwise poor batting display scoring almost 62 % of the team’s run.

“Close matches are extremely common in this tournament. It was a bad defeat for us, but we will have to bounce back. In this format, a win is all you need to get back your form.”

Speaking on the 23-year old glamorous innings, Manhas said: “Manan has a lot of potentials, but it will be his consistency that will define him. It is easy to play a big innings, but his value to the team will be defined by how often he can play these knocks.”

“This season has been a unique opportunity for him. Over the last few seasons, he has played second fiddle to (Virender) Sehwag and (Shaun) Marsh. But, this time, he has a chance to play his natural game and that will be huge plus for him”, he added.

Vohra has truly lacked in consistency. Since making his IPL debut in 2013, Vohra has 902 runs to his name in 39 games at an average of 25.77 with only 3 fifties. Vohra has to improve on these numbers to take his game to the next level.

While Kings XI is more known about their power-packed batting, their bowling has been impressive this season. They have restricted a batting line-up like RCB to 148 and have mostly given away 160-165 runs in this season so far.

“I know that batting is our strong point, but it is unfair to say that our bowling is weak. We have restricted teams to 160-165 on three occasions this season and I believe that our bowlers have made a lot of improvement.”

Kings XI Punjab acquired the services of hard-hitting Kiwi Martin Guptill at a steal deal of just Rs 50 lacs. However, the opener has been out of action due to a hamstring injury. He has recovered from the injury and is back at the practice sessions. The 30-year old can be destructive at the top order and Punjab will be wary of his abilities.

“He is fit to play and he is practising hard at the nets. However, the team management will take a decision on when he will play his first game for us,” concluded Manhas.