Mumbai bowler Harbhajan Singh said that captain Sachin Tendulkar’s injury was the cause for the team's loss.Mumbai bowler Harbhajan Singh said that captain Sachin Tendulkar’s injury was the cause for the team's loss.
By Aditya Ramachandran
“Sachin is obviously better now. His coming out due to cramp was also a cause for our loss. Youngsters like Rayadu and Tiwari were out quickly and we were not able to put up good partnerships. It is part of the game. If Sachin had stayed at the wicket for 15 overs, the story would have been different. Sachin showed tremendous commitment. And I would give full credits to him for the effort he put in,” Harbhajan said.
On the performance of youngsters in the team, who have contributed in Mumbai’s winning streak, Harbhajan said “We have to congratulate them for what they have done. They have won a lot of games for us. This is one of the games where they did not click. We have a lot of faith in them. They are all young and exciting cricketers. They all have done well for us and I am sure they will do better in our future games too.”
“It was quite a wicket to bat on. It is a little on the slower side from what I have seen from the last two three games. It looked pretty quick on the television, but when I was batting there it looked pretty slow to me. May be they have been playing a lot of games on this strip. I think 166 is still a very good bowling effort.”
Harbhajan also said, “I must say that Chennai bowled very well and their fielding was also brilliant. They played better cricket than us. Hopefully, we will get our act together and go back to the winning ways.”
On sharing the new ball, Harbhajan said, “I had to take the responsibility as the senior bowler in the team and I bowled three overs. We had the plan to use the slower bowlers against Matthew Hayden since he is a very dangerous player when he is in his flow. We were just trying to use slower bowlers and I have done well against him. Luckily it went my way today. Normally in T20 bowlers are the ones on the receiving end. God has been kind to me.”
Harbhajan said that it was great to play under Tendulkar, who is leading the team from the front. “To me Sachin is a very good captain. It is great to have a player like Sachin Tendulkar leading the side from the front and scoring runs and winning matches for us. I am really enjoying each and every moment playing alongside him and under him.”
On Zaheer Khan's fitness, Harbhajan was happy that he is available for their next match. “Zaheer is much better than before. All I can say is that he is ready for the next game. He had a bit of swelling on his left knee due to a hit the other day. His being ready for the next match should be good for us.”
On Murali Vijay's knocks in their previous two outings and dismissing him rather cheaply, Harbhajan said, “I had plans on how to take his wicket. Vijay has been batting really well. It is great to see another youngster performing like this. He will get a lot of confidence out of this. And, when he comes out to play for India, it is a great thing for us to have a player like him in the Indian side.
Harbhajan explained that his plan was to get Vijay out instead of bowling dot balls. “I wanted to get him out rather than just bowl dot balls because he is a kind of player who can score of a lot of runs in a very short time.”
Suresh Raina, the man of the match, said, “Everyone bowled well. I think 190 is a defendable total, but 150-160 is tough to defend. In such a scenario, we need to field well, and we fielded exceptionally. The more we enjoy, the better we field. Also, bowlers such as Jakati, Thushara and Ashwin bowled well. They didn’t give away too many boundaries.”
He said that they have to keep the momentum going. “I am happy that we have struck momentum. Having won three matches in a row, we are in a good position to reach the semi-finals. But we want to keep this streak going, and we have a few big matches coming up. All of them are do-or-die matches.
“Murali Vijay and Matthew Hayden have been batting well. Badrinath and Hussey made a valuable contribution. Skipper’s knock was equally important. Cricket is a team game and we are enjoying each other’s success.”
He said that players have gained a lot playing under Dhoni. “When you know that you are playing alongside him, you tend to put in a better effort, and obviously many players like Manpreet Gony, Shadab Jakati, S Badrinath and M Vijay have benefited.
On the team having a week's rest before playing Kolkata, Raina said, “It’s good to have a few days to refresh ourselves now, so that the players get enough time to think about their game, and obviously we are pretty tired. It won’t stop our momentum.”
By Aditya Ramachandran
“Sachin is obviously better now. His coming out due to cramp was also a cause for our loss. Youngsters like Rayadu and Tiwari were out quickly and we were not able to put up good partnerships. It is part of the game. If Sachin had stayed at the wicket for 15 overs, the story would have been different. Sachin showed tremendous commitment. And I would give full credits to him for the effort he put in,” Harbhajan said.
On the performance of youngsters in the team, who have contributed in Mumbai’s winning streak, Harbhajan said “We have to congratulate them for what they have done. They have won a lot of games for us. This is one of the games where they did not click. We have a lot of faith in them. They are all young and exciting cricketers. They all have done well for us and I am sure they will do better in our future games too.”
“It was quite a wicket to bat on. It is a little on the slower side from what I have seen from the last two three games. It looked pretty quick on the television, but when I was batting there it looked pretty slow to me. May be they have been playing a lot of games on this strip. I think 166 is still a very good bowling effort.”
Harbhajan also said, “I must say that Chennai bowled very well and their fielding was also brilliant. They played better cricket than us. Hopefully, we will get our act together and go back to the winning ways.”
On sharing the new ball, Harbhajan said, “I had to take the responsibility as the senior bowler in the team and I bowled three overs. We had the plan to use the slower bowlers against Matthew Hayden since he is a very dangerous player when he is in his flow. We were just trying to use slower bowlers and I have done well against him. Luckily it went my way today. Normally in T20 bowlers are the ones on the receiving end. God has been kind to me.”
Harbhajan said that it was great to play under Tendulkar, who is leading the team from the front. “To me Sachin is a very good captain. It is great to have a player like Sachin Tendulkar leading the side from the front and scoring runs and winning matches for us. I am really enjoying each and every moment playing alongside him and under him.”
On Zaheer Khan's fitness, Harbhajan was happy that he is available for their next match. “Zaheer is much better than before. All I can say is that he is ready for the next game. He had a bit of swelling on his left knee due to a hit the other day. His being ready for the next match should be good for us.”
On Murali Vijay's knocks in their previous two outings and dismissing him rather cheaply, Harbhajan said, “I had plans on how to take his wicket. Vijay has been batting really well. It is great to see another youngster performing like this. He will get a lot of confidence out of this. And, when he comes out to play for India, it is a great thing for us to have a player like him in the Indian side.
Harbhajan explained that his plan was to get Vijay out instead of bowling dot balls. “I wanted to get him out rather than just bowl dot balls because he is a kind of player who can score of a lot of runs in a very short time.”
Suresh Raina, the man of the match, said, “Everyone bowled well. I think 190 is a defendable total, but 150-160 is tough to defend. In such a scenario, we need to field well, and we fielded exceptionally. The more we enjoy, the better we field. Also, bowlers such as Jakati, Thushara and Ashwin bowled well. They didn’t give away too many boundaries.”
He said that they have to keep the momentum going. “I am happy that we have struck momentum. Having won three matches in a row, we are in a good position to reach the semi-finals. But we want to keep this streak going, and we have a few big matches coming up. All of them are do-or-die matches.
“Murali Vijay and Matthew Hayden have been batting well. Badrinath and Hussey made a valuable contribution. Skipper’s knock was equally important. Cricket is a team game and we are enjoying each other’s success.”
He said that players have gained a lot playing under Dhoni. “When you know that you are playing alongside him, you tend to put in a better effort, and obviously many players like Manpreet Gony, Shadab Jakati, S Badrinath and M Vijay have benefited.
On the team having a week's rest before playing Kolkata, Raina said, “It’s good to have a few days to refresh ourselves now, so that the players get enough time to think about their game, and obviously we are pretty tired. It won’t stop our momentum.”
No comments:
Post a Comment