After contributing another brilliant half-century in his team's victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Abu Dhabi, opener Quinton de Kock said on Friday (October 16) Mumbai Indians (MI) aren't consumed with the thought of a playoff spot and believe in taking each game as it comes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
The win was MI's sixth in eight matches, taking their points tally to 12 with a numero uno spot in the standings, not far off from securing a top-four berth. De Kock, however, stressed they aren't thinking along those lines yet.
Read Also: Rohit Sharma pleased with MI’s clinical showing in both batting and bowling against KKR
"We did not plan much before this game, we know what are our strengths, it is a matter of doing what we have been doing, in our team we have a lot of experience and it is a matter of just doing the things on the field," said the South African left-hander at the post-match press conference, as quoted by ANI.
"The preparations for playoffs have not started yet, it is about taking one game at a time, whatever happens, we have to keep it simple and we need to play to our strengths."
"Whether we qualify for the playoffs or not, that is not in our hands but playing good cricket is something we can control," added the 27-year-old.
De Kock's unbeaten 78 was key to MI's authoritative response to KKR's 148/5 and victory inside 17 overs, with help along the way from skipper Rohit Sharma (35) and Hardik Pandya (21*). Of course, the game was set-up in the first half by MI's bowling attack where leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (2/18) returned with the best figures.
"I think the process is that we have backed Rahul Chahar. He backs himself too and that is a key in a player. He knows his talent and he knows if he has a bad game, he will come back stronger and we know that too. As a player, we can just back other players," De Kock said.
"We like to play simple cricket, we have a great bunch of players, guys understand that they do not think too far ahead. To be honest, we do not really talk about the wicket, we like to assess things and rather be proactive and deal with what we have in front of ourselves," he added.
MI next face Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Dubai on Sunday (October 18).
