Simon Katich expects Knight Riders to bounce back

Despite their loss at the hands of the Gujarat Lions, Simon Katich, the assistant coach of the Knight Riders has backed his players to make a comeback. The qualification of the Knight Riders hangs in the balance as they face up to the might of the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens.

“Ultimately, we know that if we win, we go through. This is basically like a final.We will be going into the match thinking only about winning it,” Katich said on Saturday.

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Katich added that everyone was disappointed with the loss. However, he also backed the opening duo of Gambhir and Uthappa to fire in the following matches.

“Everyone was disappointed with the result the other night. A loss like that does not mean we are a bad team. We have to regroup and start again,” Katich stated.

He also backed the opening duo of Gambhir and Robin Uthappa who have failed to fire in the last few matches. “We feel that they are very good players and good players normally respond to pressure and big-match situations,” Katich said.

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He also hoped the team’s batting unit will deliver in the crunch game. “Our batsmen have been in good form.They just had a disappointing game the other night but that does not make them bad players. Hopefully, they will come back with a positive mindset,” he opined.

Giving an injury update on Andre Russell, he said:”Andre is getting treatment (hamstring injury) from our physio but we are still unsure about his condition” said Katich.

When asked about Sunil Narine, Katich reiterated:”I would not say he is off colour. History says many guys have found it hard to come back after remedial action.He has been fantastic in the way he has approached it. He has bowled in the Power Play and also at the death. To me, that is a huge positive,” Katich said.

“We spent a fair amount of time talking about him. Our batsmen, particularly Gautam, played him beautifully the last time the two teams met. It is something that we have to do again,” he stated.