IPL 2020 | We need to improve on our mid-table performance from last season, hopes Lockie Ferguson

After finishing the 2019 IPL season on level in terms of points with Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders were eliminated from the play-off stage owing to their poor net run rate. Coming into the last week of the competition, the franchise lost three out of its five matches to slip from being a contender for a top-four finish to finishing outside the top four. 

Throwing light on the previous season, KKR’s Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson stated that the franchise would aim to improve on their mid-table performance from last season this time around. He also admitted that the balance of the team is slightly superior from last season, with the purchase of Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton amongst the others. 

“The team we have (for this season) is looking super strong. Last year, we ended up sort of mid-table, so hopefully, this year we will get a chance to improve on that performance,” KKR official website quoted Ferguson as saying, reported Hindustan Times. 

Since 2008, the IPL has completely transformed from being the inaugural edition of a T20 tournament to becoming the world’s most premier T20 tournament. One thing that hasn’t changed since the start of the first season is the interest that the competition has garnered from all corners, including the Kiwi pacer, who recalled his first days of watching the tournament.

In the nine IPL games that the right-arm pacer has played, he’s picked up five wickets, which is a disappointing return, with an average well over 55, making his first appearance in a jam-packed crowd in Pune, representing the Rising Pune Supergiant. The pacer would be looking to put his past troubles with the tournament behind and start a new page, as the franchise aims for its third IPL title. 

“Well, I loved watching the first season when Brendon was smashing it all over the park. We didn’t know how big IPL was potentially going to be. I think it was difficult to measure for a Kiwi because here for Black Caps, a crowd of 20,000 is a big crowd. So, my first season at Pune in front of a sold-out crowd was extremely difficult because I couldn’t get over the noise. Seeing it on TV is one thing but being out there on the field in the IPL is a whole different ball,” he added. 

“We used to watch IPL as young chaps. Brendon (McCullum) was definitely one of our heroes while growing up. After watching him do so well in the first match for KKR, it was hard not to be a Kolkata fan. So yeah, I am super excited and I think Purple and Gold doesn’t look bad on me at all.”