Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Rising Pune Supergiants could not have asked for a better start to its Indian Premier League campaign after it thrashed defending champion Mumbai Indian by nine wickets in the season opener, here today.
Dhoni credited the bowling unit for restricting MI to 121 for eight after being invited to bowl. “I don’t think we could have had a better start than this. A lot of credit to the bowlers, especially Rajat (Bhatia); he bowled in that uncomfortable area once they lost a lot of early wickets,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“The opposition also went hard, and on a wicket where the fast bowlers had assistance, there were chances. There was pressure on their lower order, but the bowlers did a fantastic job. We should improve in the death overs.”
When we were bowling, the ball was stopping and seaming a bit. It was important to take my time and finish the game.
Dhoni also lavished praise on Ajinkya Rahane for pacing Supergiants’ chase to perfection with an unbeaten 66 off 44 balls.
“When you don’t have too many runs on the board, the batsmen have an easier job. Always felt (Ajinkya) Rahane is brilliant where the ball comes on off the wicket. He is traditional and the way he finished it off was very good,” he said.
MI skipper Rohit Sharma blamed his batting department for the loss. “The pitch looked okay, we didn’t bat well. 121 wasn’t enough. Lot to learn from this game, hopefully we go back and think about it,” he said.
“We didn’t think the ball was going to do that much. I thought they swung the ball early on and our shot selection wasn’t that great. It cost us the game,” Rohit said.
Man-of-the-match Rahane said he took his time to settle down on a two-paced wicket. “I felt it was important to time the ball. When we were bowling, the ball was stopping and seaming a bit. It was important to take my time and finish the game. Track was two-paced, a different Wankhede wicket. It was holding and for the first six overs, it was doing a lot.”
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