Bailey praises pacer Sandeep Sharma

Kings XI Punjab skipper George Bailey heaped praise on medium pacer Sandeep Sharma for his impressive show against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here.

The right-armer finished with figures of 4-1-12-1 at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Put in to bat, Kings XI rode on a good start and late fireworks from Bailey to post an imposing 177/5. In reply, the home side lost wickets at regular intervals and a late cameo by Harbhajan Singh (64 off 24 balls) went in vain as Mumbai fell short by 18 runs.

"Sandeep has just picked up a bit of pace. The beauty about him is the way he swings the ball. He moves the ball late to create wicket opportunities. He obviously had a back injury at the end of last season and probably missed a little bit of cricket which might have helped him come back fresh compared to the other guys," the Australian said.

The 32-year-old played a crucial 32-ball 64 at the end of the innings, saying it was good to be back playing cricket and scoring runs after being sidelined during the World Cup.

"It's just exciting to be playing here. It was wonderful to be part of the World Cup winning squad. The mega event was a six-week tournament but for us it was two years in the making, building up to that," said the skipper.

"But to come here knowing that I would play, is just nice. Kings XI have got great depth in their batting this year and hope to go a long way."

Bailey played just one match for Australia in the World Cup when he captained the side against England in the opener at Melbourne. But with Michael Clarke joining the squad, Bailey had to sacrifice his spot.