Mumbai : Chennai Super Kings were beaten by Gujarat Titans by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League. CSK made 133 for five against Gujarat Titans with opener Ruturaj Gaikwad making 53 off 49 balls. In response, Titans got home in 19.2 overs after a fine 67 not out off 57 balls from Wriddhiman Saha.
Hardik Pandya said, ‘We kind of won comfortably having seven wickets in hand and you don’t get extra points for finishing the game in the 15th or 16th over. So for us as a team we like to finish the game no matter when we finish. (Asked to assess his own captaincy) You put me on a spot. Yes, I would say I did pretty alright because having played in a previous franchise where a lot of responsibility was given to us as well and the kind of cricketer I am, I have always enjoyed responsibility where it kind of gives me ownership of things where I can control.
And I feel where I have batted throughout my career has given me a lot of idea about how the game is going, which kind of bowler will be important in certain situations. Playing for a different franchise and doing what I have done in the past has helped me in my captaincy. Ashish Nehra and me are very similar in terms of mindsets. Our game sense… the best thing is without saying I kind of connect with him. Today it was hot so I wanted to take a breather as well (smiles), have some water, have some protein in the body and go back again.
We will see if any players need a game off to be fresh for the playoffs, otherwise for us it is important to keep the momentum. Obviously we want to give opportunities to new players, but we also want to ensure the core group playing throughout the season is intact and getting the match practice they require before the playoffs. Yes we might change here and there, fast bowlers if needed, but otherwise we will be similar.’
MS Dhoni, said, ‘To start off, batting first wasn’t a really good idea. The fast bowlers their ball wasn’t coming on. That’s why the batsmen found it tough to hit. The second half it got slightly better. Spinners I felt both halves it was pretty even. Bit more runs in the middle overs would have been good. Sai bowled really well. We could have pushed Shivam up the order but that defeats the purpose of giving Jaggi the extra game.
We wanted Jaggi to spend some time in the middle. I think Pathirana is an excellent death bowler. A bit similar to Malinga. With his action, the margin of error for him is quite big. With a slingy action, he doesn’t get a lot of bounce. He has got that slower one as well. We will try to give guys ample time in the middle. I feel it’s important to give guys who haven’t got a chance to feature in the 11.’