Man of the match Saha talks about enjoying every bit of the outing against Mumbai Indians.
The soiled trousers of Wriddhiman Saha at the end of the high-intensity T20 game in which his team, Kings XI Punjab, defeated table toppers Mumbai Indians by seven runs on Thursday night showed that the wicketkeeper-batsman had a long day at office.
Opening the batting and staying the full length of the KXIP innings, himself alone facing nine overs of the maximum 20 to stay unbeaten on 93 and then keeping wickets for full 20 overs in Mumbai innings, Saha was a tired man at the end of it all.
But the joy of his team winning and still staying in contention for a Playoffs berth wiped out the disappointment of missing his second Twenty20 hundred.
Saha was on 85 and had a full over to score 15 more. He was on course with a six of square leg off the first ball of the 20th over sent down by Hardik Pandya. After a couple of singles, he had to score two fours to move from 92 to 100. But, the selfless cricketer mistimed a pull and ran a single. He was left stranded on 93 with one delivery remaining, which was deposited for six into the KXIP dressing room by Axar Patel.
Man-of-the-Match Saha enjoyed every bit of the outing. He is nothing new to being out in the field for long hours, having to keep wickets daylong in Tests. “Compared to Test matches, it was not tiring,’ Saha said.
“But the intensity (in T20) is high. Having batted for 20 overs, running, the intensity on the field was high. It was hectic but I enjoyed. The team won and everything else is forgotten,” said Saha, who slammed three sixes and 11 fours in his 54-ball knock.
For the second straight game, KXIP medium-pacer Mohit Sharma bowled a brilliant last over to see his side through. Asked what the frame of mind of Mohit was before bowling the last over in which MI needed 16 runs to win and Kieron Pollard on strike, Saha said: “I did not go to the bowler. Only captain was talking to the bowler. The talk was like Pollard was hitting hard but if a good yorker fell in place, it will be tough. We also faced similar situations when we batted. He tried a knuckle ball but after being hit for a six, changed plans and executed them to perfection.”
KXIP need to win their last match against Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday (4pm) and look at other teams’ equations to qualify for the Playoffs. Should KXIP lose to RPS, they don’t stand a chance.
“With three matches to go, we started with the nothing-to-lose mindset. We wanted to play our natural game. Whatever happens, we’ll see. Will do the same against Pune in last game and see what happens,” Saha said.
For someone who was batting lower down the order, Saha was, on Thursday, given the go-ahead to go for the shots in the first six overs. The plan worked as KXIP reached 71/1 in Power Play.
“In the whole tournament, I was batting lower down the order. This match, I was told to play hard in the first six overs. I tried that and had a good partnership with Guptill. Then Maxi (Maxwell) came and went on with the momentum. It feels good after performing well in the match,” Saha said.
“The way the match went, they (MI) also started well. Then we took wickets. Then, Pollard and Hardik Pandya hit well. It was close. We had to hold our nerves till end and we won,” he said.
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 "IPL 10, Indian Premier League (IPL), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Mumbai Indians (MI), Cricket, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, Mohit")
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