Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming and Lucknow Super Giants mentor Zaheer Khan have both been vocal about not getting the pitches of their choice in home matches. In comparison, Kolkata Knight Riders have only hinted at the need to avail home advantage at the Eden.

“Who doesn’t want home advantage!” Knights head coach Chandrakant Pandit had said on the eve of their clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede, a game where they were thrashed by eight wickets.

Surprisingly, on Wednesday, the eve of their crucial game against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden, KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo played down the home advantage factor. For Bravo, it’s the fans who make home advantage an important factor.

“I don’t know much about pitches,” Bravo commented.

“For me, you turn up, you play, and the team that does better on the day will win the game. So, whether the pitch is slow, whether it’s turning, whether it’s not turning... My suggestion to the players will always be to make the necessary assessment, adjustment and play according to the conditions. And what helps us with home advantage is the fans.

“I think that is more important than how the pitch behaves. I will not really comment much about pitches but more on the process, and once the fans are into the game and cheering us on, that makes a difference,” Bravo explained.

The Sunrisers, too, were keen on putting up a stance suggesting they weren’t much concerned with the pitch either. “It’ll be about the team that adapts the best and posts a good score on the board if batting first. Obviously, you have to try and pick up some early wickets if you’re bowling first,” fielding coach Ryan Cook said.