'IPL win makes us CL T20 favourites'

Kolkata: After hitting the winning shot for the newly-crowned Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders, Manoj Tiwary has gone a step further and said his team will start as favourites at the Champions League Twenty20, starting October. "Of course we are favourites in the Champions League after having won the IPL. Everyone will expect us to win the tournament," Tiwary said.

The right-hander, who plays for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, praised the team's new recruits and the collective spirit for the success. "Players like Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis and Yusuf Pathan were taken in as they had done well for other franchises. We had a very good team combination and that was crucial," he said.

Referring to previous editions of the cash-rich league where KKR played poorly, Tiwary said "somewhere down the line the chemistry was missing and things did not fall in place".

\"Having won the IPL, everyone will expect us to win the CL T20,\" Manoj Tiwary, the KKR batsman said.

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