Kolkata Knight Riders‘ Manish Pandey revealed that the team maintained their training regimen during the IPL’s unexpected break due to Indo-Pak military conflict, as they were confident of the tournament’s resumption. Speaking at a pre-match press conference in Bengaluru on Friday, Pandey suggested the break could help KKR regain form as they prepare for a crucial match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday.KKR face a must-win situation against RCB to keep their playoff hopes alive, but Pandey remains optimistic about the team’s preparation despite the mid-tournament interruption.“It doesn’t really change much because as professional cricketers, we know what’s to be done. We definitely knew that the tournament would resume, but we didn’t know how soon. But it was good that we didn’t have a lot of break,” Pandey said.“We were still in the gym and doing our work on the game. The whole team is here and everyone is ready to go and we are looking forward to having a great game,” he added.The veteran batsman downplayed the pressure of the must-win situation against RCB.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?“You know, nothing much to lose from here. Actually, we just thought we could have had a better tournament as a team. We were discussing that, but nevertheless, we lost a few games in the middle. If you think about those crucial games, you wish now that you had won those games. But yeah, definitely two more games to go. Everybody is wanting to perform,” he stated.Pandey acknowledged KKR’s inconsistent performance this season despite having a strong team on paper.
“Last time we were winning games, a lot of games, which is very important in a tournament like IPL. This time we were winning one, but were losing one. The whole tournament was like that. Our batting has been fine. We have been bowling really well. It has been a year where it has been a little patchy in terms of both the performances, batting and bowling. Hopefully, we will have a similar strong core for next year as well and can win games like we were doing last year,” he explained.The unexpected break, according to Pandey, could prove beneficial for the team’s remaining matches.“But a break like this could definitely help. I am pretty sure guys would have gone back home and seen their videos and tried to work on a few things that they didn’t have the opportunity to do. So, I think it should be a good break. As I said, the only thing I am hoping for is to win the last two games and end on a high,” he concluded.KKR will need to win their remaining two matches to maintain any chance of reaching the playoffs, with their immediate focus on the upcoming clash against RCB in Bengaluru.
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