Bollinger enjoys his champagne moment

Chennai: Doug Bollinger made an instant impact for Chennai Super Kings in his opening game of IPL 2010 against Rajasthan Royals. Here's more from his interaction with the media.

Excerpts:

On his first game:

Yeah it was good fun actually. It was a good start to a good IPL season for me. The guys have been great, to get off with a win, it has been great.

On how tough it was adjusting to the conditions from Australia and New Zealand:

Oh yeah, absolutely. But I have played here before with the Australian team. You get used to it. Every country is different. That’s what makes the game good and special.

On whether he ever had crowds chanting his name before:

(Laughs) Jeez I don’t know. I would like that to happen every game (smiles)…I wish. [I] haven’t had that for a long time, I don’t think. No they were a great crowd and it’s a great ground. I am just thrilled on winning a great game.

On whether he expected Royals to get close to their target of 247:

You never know. Twenty20 is a funny game, you can have one or two good overs. They have a great team. It was a good wicket as well. Shane Watson played well and so did (Naman) Ojha. I think 220 might have been probably par on that wicket. But we defended pretty well and bowled pretty well.

On Murali Vijay’s innings:

I think Vijay played fantastic. I think he backed his own ability. Shaun Tait bowls very, very fast. You have got Shane Warne who spins the ball very well. You have great bowlers. He just backed his own ability and it came off. He batted really, really well. I think we just went out there and tried to keep everything simple. That’s when you do your best. And just make sure you enjoy the game. You know you are on your home ground. That’s just what you have to do. We had a really good total and we knew we could defend it. [To] come out with a win, it was fantastic.

On Warne’s compliment that it was Bollinger who made the difference and not Vijay:

(Smiles) No, that’s a great compliment. But Vijay batted well, everyone knows that. I just went out there and did what I had to do. I came out with…I never thought I would catch a ball like that (to dismiss Yusuf Pathan) but, no, it was good. No, I just made sure that I enjoyed myself. That’s what I can do.

On how he felt winning the Man of the Match:

I didn’t get Man of the Match (manager informs he won the best catch award). You weren’t watching were you? (laughter all round). No…Vijay got Man of the Match, he deserved it. He played a great innings.