Our players can win matches single-handedly: Brad Hodge

GUJARAT LIONS head coach Brad Hodge attributes the success of the side to the ‘match-winners’ in the team. Having won four of the five matches played so far this season, Hodge’s men are placed second on the points table. 

In an interview with the iplt20.com, the Aussie veteran said,

“We’ve got a lot of match-winners. If a couple of those fire in any particular game it’s going to be awfully hard for any opposition. We just have to make sure that this consistency keeps going across the tournament. We’ve certainly identified that losing is also part of the tournament. You can’t expect to go through the whole tournament winning every game. We had a really poor outing against SRH put that to bed, and across the board played strong cricket (in the previous match).”

Speaking about the experience in the line-up, the 41-year-old said, 

“There are a couple of big name players in our line-up for sure and certainly experience does help. But, I’ve played with a lot of these guys from DD (before) and they are very talented cricketers.”

The former Aussie middle order batsman added that his side would like to win against Rahul Dravid’s men, as Gujarat Lions prepare to lock horns with the in-form Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium tonight. 

“I see Rahul very much as a role model and mentor also for myself. We’ve played together and I learnt a lot of things off him. I respect everything he does in life. It will be nice to be able to beat him and his team. I’m sure he’s thinking that way as well, we have a few RR players in our side – Faulkner, Dhawal Kulkarni, etc. It is a mixture of interesting feelings. There is a lot of love and friendship with a lot of those guys and that will continue forever in time. But once you jump across that battlefield it’s the best man wins, I guess.”