Lucknow, May 7 (IANS) Mitchell Marsh admitted Lucknow Super Giants have struggled to put together complete performances this season, but remains optimistic that the side can revive its campaign against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their Indian Premier League clash at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Lucknow entered the contest under pressure after six consecutive defeats left them at the bottom of the standings with only two wins from nine matches.

Speaking ahead of the game, Marsh said the team’s inability to consistently deliver across all departments had hurt them throughout the tournament.

“Look, we just want to get back to winning ways. It’s obviously been a really disappointing stretch for us. And we haven’t been able to play 40 overs of cricket throughout the tournament. And in this tournament, especially, two or three bad overs can lose you games. And we’ve been on the wrong end of that, so hopefully we can get back to winning ways tonight.”

The Australian all-rounder also spoke about the batting conditions in Lucknow, saying the venue had previously produced high-scoring encounters despite its reputation for assisting bowlers. “I think that’s very natural as a batsman to know you want to take that Mumbai wicket everywhere you go. But in saying that, I thought last year the wicket, especially, was that we had a lot of 200 scores here. So it can be great here. I haven’t seen it tonight, but hopefully there are lots of runs.”

Marsh, who has shown flashes of form this season, said he still feels a major innings could be around the corner and hopes to lead the side’s recovery with a significant contribution. “I’m hopeful. I haven’t fully got going yet, it feels like. I’ve made a few small contributions. But yeah, hopefully a big score is around the corner. And as I said, we can get back to our winning ways.”

The opener is also set for another battle against fellow Australian and RCB pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood, who troubled him during the reverse fixture earlier this season in Bengaluru. “That’s nothing new. Having faced him in the nets for the last probably 15 years now, I’ve got a few bruises from Joshy. But hopefully I can get on top of him.”

Marsh acknowledged the challenge posed by the reigning champions but said Lucknow were looking forward to testing themselves against one of the strongest teams in the competition.

“We obviously know that Bangalore are a really good side. They are the reigning champs. And it’s a great challenge for us. So we’re looking forward to it.”

The Australian T20I skipper started on a strong note with the bat and brought up a fiery 20-ball half-century in the powerplay as his side batted first against RCB.

–IANS

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