IPL 2018: Aaron Finch happy Kings XI Punjab winning despite his lack of runs
Kings XI Punjab, third in the IPL table, take on bottom-placed Mumbai Indians in their first game at their second home venue.
Seasoned Australian batsman Aaron Finch is not too concerned about his poor personal form as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) look to resume their great run in IPL 2018 against bottom-placed Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Holkar Stadium on Friday.
KXIP’s top-order batsmen have helped delivered five wins out of seven games, but Finch, who missed the start of IPL due to his wedding, has not joined the party.
KL Rahul, Chris Gayle and Karun Nair have scored consistently, while KXIP’s middle-order comprising Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch and Yuvraj Singh is yet to fire.
Asked if that’s a worry, Finch, who has managed just 24 runs in six games, said: “Not at all.”
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“It’s true that we haven’t scored much. But the great thing is we still have five wins. Chris, KL and Karun have been brilliant. It’s important to stay optimistic. It’s just a matter of time before the middle-order fires,” he said at a media interaction on Thursday.
Although, holders Mumbai Indians are staring at elimination, Finch cautioned his teammates against any complacency.
“They have been one of the best sides in the history of the tournament. They are three-time IPL champions. They’ve had slow starts in the past and still managed to reach the playoffs. We are not going to take them lightly. We will have to be at our very best to beat them.”
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MI have only two wins from eight games and need to win their remaining six matches and hope other teams help them stay in playoff contention.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Evin Lewis and Hardik Pandya all haven’t got big scores. In bowling, Mitchell McClenaghan (nine wickets), Mustafizur Rahman (seven wickets) have both been expensive, at the start and in the death overs.
On the other hand, KXIP, under R Ashwin’s leadership, have lost just two games and are inching close to the play-offs. In Mohali, they won all three games and will now play their remaining four home games in Indore.
Finch denied the change in home venue will affect the team. “No, I don’t think so. You play around the country so much. You play seven away games. We had a wonderful start in Chandigarh with three wins. This (Indore) is a bit smaller ground. Wicket is generally very good here. We are ready for the challenge.”