IPL teams will come back stronger: Katich

New Delhi:

New South Wales captain Simon Katich is surprised by the dismal start that IPL teams have made to the Champions League but reckons that Indian teams will bounce back soon in the ongoing Twenty20 event.

Playing in home conditions, all the three Indian Premier League sides - Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils - started their campaign on a disastrous note, succumbing to defeats in their opening encounters.

But Katich feels it would be a big mistake to take the wounded IPL sides lightly as they are sure to come back hard in the remainder of the tournament.

"I am little surprised too see the Indian sides lose their opening matches, especially when they are playing in home conditions which suits them better than any other teams.

"But in this format you can never take any side lightly and I am sure the Indian sides will bounce back in their second matches," Katich told reporters here on Sunday after making the Super Eight stage following a 35-run win over Sussex. His feelings were echoed by Sussex Sharks stand-in skipper Ed Joyce.

"It's still early days as the IPL teams have played one game and I am sure they will perform better in their next match," Joyce said.

Katich feels a calculative game plan on a low and slow Feroz Shah Kotla wicket today stood them in good stead.

Asked whether the uneven bounce of the Kotla wicket was playing on their mind when his batters went to bat, Katich said, "No, not at all. We knew that the wicket will play low and slow since we had witnessed in the first game against Diamond Eagles.

"So, we always knew 125 would be a good target to defend. It is always nice to bat on flat wickets but batting on this wicket was challenging. In this sort of wickets, you have to play proper cricketing shots to score runs."

The Australian, however, warned his teammates against any complacency, saying, "We had a good start to the tournament but it is just the initial phase. There will be more tough matches ahead."

Joyce complimented his bowlers for restricting NSW to 130 but admitted that the Australian side was undoubtedly the better team today. He also rued the English side's preparation in the run up to the tournament.

"NSW and Victoria are a very strong teams. Our preparations haven't been ideal as the pitches here were not ideal. But we are not complaining about pitches, on any wicket the best team wins and I feel NSW played better cricket," Joyce said.