IPL 5: Deccan can still make it to last-4: Penney

Kolkata: Despite five losses in five matches, Deccan Chargers fielding coach Trevor Penney on Monday said that they have still not lost hopes of advancing to the knockout stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season five. "I think we need eight wins and we have 11 games left. Anything is possible. I know in my first year with Kings XI [Punjab], we won about 10 games out of 11 after losing the first few. So, it's possible," Penney told reporters at the pre-match press conference ahead of their return-leg clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders here on Tuesday. "In Twenty20, when you get on a run, you can definitely do it. We've played good cricket. It's just 95 per cent we've played well and five per cent we've let ourselves down."
Penney said they did well in the last four matches but could not finish on the winning note. "In the last four matches, we've played good cricket. Just at the big moments, we've made a mistake either with the bat, the ball or in the field. Whether it be a poor over or a dropped catch or not taking on the right bowler at the right time. First game [against Chennai Super Kings] we didn't play that well. Fair enough. But the team is still very confident. We've had four last-over losses. That has hurt the team badly, But we still have 11 games and in T20, it can just turn around," he said.


Penney further said they were 15-20 runs short in their match against KKR as they were restricted to 126 for seven. "The last six overs we didn't capitalise like maybe we could have. But then the wicket was pretty slow and a little bit two-paced. We felt we could defend that score and we were doing well. We made a mistake in the field in the end. It would have been 16 runs off 12 balls with a new batsman coming in. Those little things, that is what I am talking about, the odd here and there is costing us games," he said.
Asked about the Eden strip, he said, "It looks like a typical Kolkata wicket. It's normally pretty nice to bat early on, not much grass. So, could be pretty low and slow." On keeping youngsters in the side motivated, Penney said, "We are focusing on keeping them confident and making them practice hard. But we also ensure not to discuss much about the negatives so far. Darren [Lehmann] being a positive coach, is always there to look after these things. We just need to get our first win and we will be up and running."