Mohali,23 May:Tom Moody, coach of the Kings XI Punjab side, has expressed relief that his team has moved closer to the knock-out round of the inaugural edition of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL).With a 1-run thrilling victory over Mumbai Indians on May 21 at the Wankhede Stadium, the Yuvraj Singh-led team is just one win away in order to technically qualify for the semi-final round of the Twenty20 championship.
The unit occupies the second spot in the League standings with eight victories out of eleven games that they have played so far.
While speaking to the media after his team beat Mumbai Indians, Moody said, "We’re absolutely relieved. Every team wants to get into the finals. We’ve set ourselves a goal to get there and it is nice to get there early which took a lot of hard work to do as a team."
"Lucky enough for us to have a few games leading into the semis and the finals," he added.
The Mohali franchise, which is co-owned by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, still has three more games to go against Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians will have to try harder now in order to move ahead. Though they are not certainly out of the race for the semi-finals, Mumbai will have to make sure that they capitalize from the three remaining League games and ascend the points table.
Despite the close defeat, Mumbai Indians coach Lalchand Rajput maintained that Mumbai Indians as a unit have kept experimenting with their combinations and kept improvising since the first game. He further indicated that it is a good sign for his unit as a lot of local players are coming up. Courtsey:iplt20.com