Game against KKR most important of the tournament: Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting

Mumbai, May 13 (IANS)

Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Ricky Ponting on Wednesday said their must-win match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday is the most important match for them in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015.

Mumbai must beat KKR here on Thursday to keep playoff hopes alive.

“This game for us is like what the last six games have been. They have all been must-win games. We focus on every game like a knockout match. Tomorrow's game becomes the most important one in the tournament. We are not looking at the mathematics. We have no control over that. We obviously have control over the outcome of this match,” Ponting said at the pre-match press conference.

Credit to the players for winning 5 in 5: Ponting

Mumbai Indian bowlers, in their last match here against Royal Challengers Bangalore, suffered humiliation at the hands of AB de Villiers.

Speaking on how he geared his boys up after the loss, Ponting said, “I made it very clear to our guys and that we need to move on quickly and leave that game in our changing rooms. AB's innings was probably one of the best I have seen in this format. What really pleased me was the way we fought. We scored almost 200 ourselves. We can try and take some positives out of the game.”

“If we look at the statistics of this venue in the day games, 165 is the par score. Both teams played exceptionally cricket, but they had a couple of good innings. But we will continue to give our best and have a big challenge coming up against KKR,” he said.

Mumbai Indians made a huge turnaround to the tournament winning five back-to-back matches after losing initial games. Ponting credited his players for the performance.

“Full credit to the players. At the end of the day, I can do what I can do or the coaches can do what they can do. But it's all about assessing the conditions quickly and applying your skills to the situation at the right time. We have been one of the better teams in the tournament and we've shown that with some of our better performances. We can beat anybody on our day. That's the way we have to turn up against KKR,” he said.

Ponting has his say on the Kevin Pietersen scenario

England batsman Kevin Pietersen will join Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday, IPL outfit announced on Wednesday.

The star batsman was bought by Sunrisers in this year's auction, but was allowed to return home to England to play county cricket to revive his international career.

Speaking on his comeback, Ponting said, “I don't think he's going to play the last game because they look very settled right now. Even if he's coming I don't think he will play because it's SRH's last match. Their team seems to be quite settled. Morgan is playing well, the other guys are doing well. I doubt if he'll come back. When he arrives I am sure there will be a media circus around him. Kevin has a had a busy couple of days.

“He scored a 355 for his county side Surrey. And when he was told he was not going to play for England again, I am sure when he comes the focus will be on him and not so much on us. So we might be able to sneak another win. We'll try to win this game first and then see.”