David Warner was “disappointed” after his team suffered a heart-breaking loss to Kings XI Punjab in a low-scoring IPL league game at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday night.
Speaking to the media after the contest, Warner felt the bowlers did an incredible job to restrict the opposition to 126.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
“They were exceptional in their job, taking wickets, used the conditions and the wicket pretty well. It was a special day for them,” he said.
“But, we didn’t get the job done (in batting). We were a bit complacent in the middle, though we would get runs easily. This is what happens if the opposition is smart,” he said.
Warner felt that the pitch slowed down and the ball was coming slow off the wicket. “You should know as a batter the conditions which were hard to hit. Chasing a total which is very achievable, you should be able to manipulate the field and rotate the strike taking ones and twos,” he explained.
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“Well, when I batted, I just wanted to put some pressure by taking on [Mohammed] Shami because he is a very good swing bowler,” he said about his aggressive approach in the Powerplay.
Warner was all praise for leggie Rashid Khan and West Indian all-rounder Jason Holder.
“They are world-class bowlers. I think when they get the length right, they are hard to hit. Jasey is a workhorse and that is what you expect from him. And, Rashid was brilliant throughout the tournament,” he said.
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Warner praised Sandeep, the fast bowler, after he reached a milestone of 100 wickets in the IPL. He said Sandeep was exception with the new ball. “He has great variations. You know he is going to deliver 100 per cent. Extremely grateful to him and happy to have and play along with him,” he said.
Looking forward, Warner said his team has three challenging games left in the group stage and to win the tournament it has to beat the best teams.
'Clear with our plans'
Fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, who bowled the final over of the contest, said the plan was simple – use the bigger side, bowl the slow balls and it worked.
“We were clear from ball one with our plans. C. J. (Chris Jordan) was going for yorkers and I was bowling the slower ones. He really bowled well and that gave me courage as well,” he said.
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Arshdeep said Ravi Bishnoi bowled exceptionally well. Bishnoi was economical in his four-over spell, and picked up the main wickets at crucial junctures.
When asked why Mohammed Shami completed his full quota of overs before the death overs, Arshdeep said the idea was to get an extra wicket and he got it by dismissing Abdul Samad.
“We are glad that Rahul bhai trusted me and C. J. in the death overs,” he said.
“We are not looking that far (of making it to the playoffs) right now. We just want to stick to our plans. After we won the big game against Mumbai Indians in the Super Over, we started believing that we can do anything,” Arshdeep said.
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