New Delhi: Having consolidated their position at the top of the points table with their ninth victory in IPL-7, Kings XI Punjab skipper George Bailey feels every win is vital as it increases confidence and self-belief among the players going into the business end of the tournament.
Kings XI defeated laggards Delhi Daredevils by four wickets at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi on Monday to take their tally to 18 points from nine wins out of 11 games in the ongoing IPL. And, Bailey said they would like to keep the winning momentum going into the knock-out stages of the T20 league.
"I think what you get from winning is confidence and self-belief. They are really two important things in this format of the game," Bailey said at the post-match press conference. "Momentum is certainly very important. Having said that once you get to the finals, it cancels everything. You start from the scratch," he added.
Already assured of a place in the play-offs, Kings XI still have two league games to play and Bailey warned his players against complacency. "Every game is still very important. We are still trying to improve as individuals and as a team. Play-off is one little obstacle or goal that we have completed. But this is the time when you want to play your best cricket, make sure you are peaking. So from now on there is certainly no taking away our foot from the accelerator," the captain said.
Bailey was full of praise for the youngsters of his team, especially Akshar Patel for his all-round performance against Delhi Daredevils. Akshar produced a misery spell of one for 18 from his four overs and then scored an unbeaten 42 during Kings XI’s chase.
"Really proud of the way Akshay batted, he was outstanding. I think all the young guys stood up. Manan (Vohra) at the stop gave us a fantastic start. Rishi (Dhawan) at the end kept his head. I am very proud of the way our young guys have performed," Bailey said. "Akshay and Sandeep's (Sharma) last overs with the ball were outstanding. We really saw good execution of skills under pressure."
