'180 is a good target'

Mumbai: MS Dhoni’s return to cricket from injury was a painful experience with Chennai Super Kings losing to Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians. But like always, Dhoni put a positive spin on the result.

Here are some excerpts from the Chennai Super Kings captain’s interaction with the media:

On big shots being played only from one end

Har koi koshish karta hai bade shot marne ki, maybe kabhi kabhi aap successful nahi ho paate ho. Kabhi bowler accha daal raha hota hai aap par and specially abhi agar aap dekhein toh all over right handed batsmen jo hain unko bowlers kaafi acha daalne lage hain jiske kaaran zyaada pressure rehta hain. More often yorkers bhi sahi khelte hain. So it is not like main rehta toh kuch bahut zyaada alag kar pata. [Everyone tries to play big shots, sometimes he just doesn’t succeed. Sometimes the bowler bowls very well to you. These days, bowlers have begun to bowl superbly to right-handers, increasing the pressure on batsmen. Bowlers have started specialising in yorkers. So it’s not like a batsman is sure that he’d have made a difference had he stuck around.] 180 runs on the board is a good target. 20 over main 180 kaafi mushkil target hota hain aur ek baar aapko accha start mil jaaye the team can capitalise on that kyunki it’s all about handling pressure. [180 is a tough target in a 20-over game and once you get going, the team can capitalize on the start because it’s all about handling pressure] At the end of the day [we’re] quite happy to [have made] 180.

On Thisara Perera’s bowling

Well, of course is liye humne Perera [Thisara] ko khilaya tha and he’s been bowling very well in the practice session. Usme bowlers bahut aacha perform kar rahe hai. [The bowlers were performing very well during practice.] But at the end of the day, jab ek match hota hain tab aap pe pressure rehta hain. [when there’s a match on, there’s pressure] I think more than the skill part, jo pressure handle karta hain usme hum thoda piche reh jaa rahe hain toh [We have been unable to handle pressure situations] it’s about backing yourself at the end of the day because aap plan kar sakte hain lekin at the end of the day aapko khud jaa ke execution karna padta hain aur aapko kaunsi field setting karni padti hain [You yourself have to execute the plans and decide on the field setting]. I think hum thoda low in confidence rahe hain when it comes to the bowling department.

On whether 200 would have been a more challenging total

You know the beauty of cricket [is], for the last five years I have been playing for India, whenever you get a score if you lose a game you are 20 runs less. And when the opponents win a game, they are 20 runs more so you always are there [with] the 20 runs [block] you are never really happy - the opposing team or you yourself. It is always a question of those 20 runs.

On CSK’s losing streak

Well you know cricket itna complicated game nahi hain, kaaafi simple game hain. Jaisa ki maine bola, hum patches main ache the, ek match main hum bahut achi batting karte hain to ek match main hum bowling achi karte hain par ek saath hum saari chize achi nahi kar rahe hain. Yeh jaise ki bahut bada field that toh I think isme humaari fielding bhi thodi piche reh gayi you know. So overall, is tarah ke tournament main aapko sab kuch ek saath acha karna padega aur percentage karna padega. [Cricket is not a complicated game, it’s quite a simple game. Like I said before, we are playing well in patches. In one match we bat very well, and in the other we bowl well. But we are not doing everything right at the same time. This [Brabourne] is a big ground, and here our fielding was not up to the mark. In this kind of tournament, you have to do well in all departments.] We are a very good side, we just have to handle pressure.

On Sachin Tendulkar’s form

It is very difficult if you see the beauty of his [Sachin Tendulkar] batting in this kind of a format. He is not the kind of batsman who plays big shots. He is very cunning, he uses the pace of the bowler and he bats on both sides of the wicket, so it gets very difficult to stop him. But at the end of the day you can force him to play big shots, don’t give him much space. But you know, if somebody like Sachin Tendulkar is batting, you don’t really want to bowl slower deliveries at him because he can really hit those big sixes. So it is more of a mind game between the bowler and Sachin Tendulkar and more often than not, it will be Sachin Tendulkar [who controls] the game.

On Tendulkar and the ICC World T20 competition

Well, he has retired from that so let’s respect that - he has said that in an interview also.

On the possible Indian squad for the ICC World T20 competition

You are not really supposed to talk about the selection and it is going to happen tomorrow sometime in the afternoon. So let’s hope the players are in form and do really well in the IPL and continue with that in the T20 World Cup.

On CSK missing a good bowler

We have missed quite a few bowlers right from the last edition. If you see, we missed Freddie [Andrew Flintoff] in the last edition, this edition too he was not available. Then it was Jacob Oram and now it’s Justin Kemp. So what really happens is that when you miss foreign players it is not that you just replace him with one foreign player and it gets done. The overall composition of the side goes for a toss. All of a sudden you have to balance quite a few things, which basically means you miss the best performers of your side and the second line or the bench strength comes into action. We are missing quite a few bowlers and definitely Freddie because he can change equations - he is a genuine batsman and a genuine bowler at the same time.

On whether they are missing a genuine pace bowler

T20 is not only about pace or Shaun Tait would have been one of the most successful bowlers and Chaminda Vaas wouldn’t have been. So it’s about bowling the right length, looking at what really the batsman is doing. You place your fielders and bowl according to the field. Of course, we have got big hitters who can really clear the field whatever your length or line of your bowling be but at the end of the day you want to bowl to your strength.

On the positives the team will take from the game

We are back to scoring runs. 180 runs are more than enough for a T20 game, especially on this kind of wicket. There was something for the fast bowlers and the spinners - there was plenty of bounce for the spinners. I think from the batting point of view there are a lot of positives, but you know at the end of the day there are two more departments, the bowling department and the fielding department. So let’s be hopeful that we will do well in the next game.

On his injury

I knew one thing, my injury won’t get worse - no real chance of my injury getting worse. But one good thing happened, I never really batted, so maybe I could have taken one more day’s rest (laughs)