Jaipur: Michael Lumb blew the Kings XI Punjab out of IPL 2010 with a breathtaking display of batting on Wednesday. The Rajasthan Royals opener fronted the media after his blitzkrieg 83 off 44 balls.
Here's more from his interaction:
On his experience so far in the IPL: I am actually learning [in the] IPL and up till this game I have had a few starts, so it’s been nice to kick on and get a decent score to help the team to a decent total and win the game.
On the importance of the nine-wicket victory: I think it is a massive game for us to win so convincingly and in so little time (five overs to spare). I hope it will pump our run-rate into positive figures and it will keep us up in the top four. So the win today was massive for the run-rate.
On filling Graeme Smith’s shoes perfectly: Yeah, it was obviously very sad for Graeme when he went home, but it gave me an opportunity. So, as I said at the start of the tournament, this is an opportunity for me to be involved in this competition and play against the best in the world. I am disappointed for Graeme but hopefully I can take my opportunities and hopefully we can keep winning some games.
On his mindset before going in to bat: Before this I had got starts off a few balls but hadn’t kicked on, so I kind of said to myself today to try and face a few more balls and hopefully the score will look after itself.
On whether the pitch was the reason for going without Shaun Tait and Morne Morkel and picking Adam Voges instead: I think maybe the wicket here was a little bit slow, especially in the second half, and it was going to turn a bit, so I think that was the ploy. You will have to ask Warnie about that, I’m not sure about the selection stuff.
On whether he had seen the comic strip on the IPL website: No, to be honest, actually I haven’t. I have looked at it (the website) a few times just to check the table and stuff but I haven’t seen the comic strip, no.
On the difference between the T20 Leagues in England and India: I think in this format the tactics are pretty similar. I think teams go hard in the first six [overs] and there is a bit of a cooling-off period to try and save wickets to go hard again in the end. So I think in terms of strategy they are very similar. I think the main difference is, over here, some of the Indian players I have come across. [There are] some really good players so that’s the main difference between here and England.
On whether Sreesanth’s antics spurred him to hit him around the ground: No, it didn’t really motivate me at all. He is a great bowler and he is a good competitor, so when you come across Sreesanth he is going to get fired up and some things fire him up. But, as a batsman, you just have to stay calm and stay in your space. But he is a good bowler and today wasn’t his day, so I’m sure he will come back hard.
On Naman Ojha and opening the batting with him: Naman is an awesome player, he takes a lot of pressure off me, strikes the ball cleanly and, as you have seen in this competition, he has had some great scores. He was not out today and he has had a few nineties, so he is a great player - one of the better strikers of the ball I have seen. To walk out in the middle with him to open the batting is very good for me.
On missing out on a century: Yeah, to be honest, a hundred would have been nice but it’s the nature of the game, unfortunately. I hit one down the fielder’s throat, but I wasn’t really looking to score [a hundred] to be honest. It was just for us trying to get the runs as quickly as we could. True, I was trying to get the run-rate up, our net run-rate.
On the KXIP bowling attack not being good: Definitely not. I think we have seen a few other games where Kings XI have rushed it along, a few of the other guys. I think they are very good bowlers, you know. In this competition you are going to have bad days and maybe they had a bad day today. But, no, I think they are still a very good attack.
On seeing the cricket ball as a football: Yeah, today it was my day. I think things went [according] to plan and I got a bit lucky. But [I’ve] just got to keep on going, [the] next game is a new game, we are back in Jaipur. [The] team is very happy to be back here, we like playing out here, we have got a good record and I think we are in a good space at the minute. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves and hopefully we can take some momentum from this game into the next one.
On how close they are to the semi-finals: I think we are on 12 points now so, speaking to Warnie and the guys who have played before, we probably have to win two out of three games. I think Kings XI will come back strong [so] hopefully they can beat a few sides for us and help us a bit. But it’s in our hands that we have got to win two of the next three and I think we are really happy to be back in Jaipur. We like playing here so hopefully it will be good for us.
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