Moody vary of KXIP

"There is no doubt that they (Kings XI Punjab) are a dangerous side. They have match-winning players in their XI. They haven’t had a consistent tournament to date but we know very well that on their day, they can beat any team," said Tom Moody.

Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody praised his team's top-order for putting up a good show in this tournament.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) coach Tom Moody is wary of Kings XI Punjab’s (KXIP) potential and he said that the team can beat any team “on their day”.

“There is no doubt that they are a dangerous side. They have match-winning players in their XI. They haven’t had a consistent tournament to date but we know very well that on their day, they can beat any team. So we certainly know that we need to bring out our A game tomorrow. And our focus will be, more so, concentrating on us continuing to improve as a side. Tomorrow will be no different.

There are certain areas where we’ll continue to look to improve. And if we concentrate on that, the outcome, hopefully, will be what we want,” said the 50-year-old Australian.

Reflecting on SRH’s improved show this season, Moody said, “The two sides (Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals) have been banned from IPL and what it has done is, it has freed up a few players that we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to access through the auction process or the even through trading.

“We filled a couple of critical areas of our squad to make as a side that a little more complete with bat and ball. And we got some great experience by picking up the likes of Yuvraj (Singh) and (Ashish) Nehra. It not only helps the depth of the squad but also the experience within the group.”

The coach was pleased with the way SRH’s openers have fared so far in the tournament.

“Shikhar (Dhawan) and David (Warner) have had a very good tournament to this point. Like any team, in T20, you need success at the top of the order. You need form, we got that. At times, you pay the price for that. A lot of players in the middle order don’t get exposure to the crease. I’d rather have that around than the middle order having to be exposed with us losing early wickets all the time.

“I am pretty comfortable with the form of the players in the middle-order. They all have practised hard. They all have contributed at different times of the tournament. Both Shikhar and David have set the tone for us upfront and may that continue.”