'This Is The Beginning': Chandrakant Pandit Hopeful Of KKR's Fresh Start In Second-Half Of IPL 2023

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Chandrakant Pandit has voiced his confidence in his team's ability to make a formidable comeback in the second half of the IPL 2023, saying the team is looking forward to starting afresh.

After a close defeat to Punjab Kings in the tournament opener, KKR returned to winning ways, with two back-to-back wins, including a last-over thriller against Gujarat Titans where Rinku Singh hit 5 sixes in the final over, before losing their next four fixtures on the bounce to be placed eighth in the 10-team points table with just 2 wins from 7 outings.

"This is the beginning, I would say, this is the beginning again in the 2nd half. Winning the first game, we have beaten them earlier. That confidence we should have. I am sure that just one spark in our team that will take us forward," Chandrakant Pandit said in a video shared by KKR.

"One has to be very optimistic. I mean, how I look at this tournament now is that the tournament is starting for us from tomorrow. And that is a positive angle from which I look at it. Obviously, a different environment has been created and the confidence level which we had in the first-half, we shouldn't forget about that," he added.

The head coach further highlighted that the team's overall performance was not poor and there were some exceptional individual displays during
a four-match losing streak.

"It's not that we have not been playing good cricket. So, every individual player has raised his hand, and shown us that he is ready to take responsibility," he said.

Chandrakant also said that he got good vibes as soon as he stepped into the dressing room at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Madhya Pradesh clinched their maiden Ranji Trophy title last year.

The head coach is optimistic that the venue could mark the turning point for his team in IPL 2023.

Also Read: IPL 2023 Points Table

"It's a great memory that I cannot forget. Just last season, a year before, Madhya Pradesh won the trophy here. As soon as I entered the dressing room, it gave me that positivity that this is where we are going to start the second half and we are going to be killing it," he said.