Lyca Kovai Kings batsman speaks about working with Lance Klusener

Lyca Kovai Kings batsman Anirudh Sita Ram spoke exclusively to the India Cements TN Premier League website after the semi-final loss to the Chepauk Super Gillies. The opener was the third highest run-getter scoring 304 runs for his team.

Where do you think you went wrong in the semi-final?I feel we lost out in the middle overs when we lost two quick wickets. Our start was good as we were 44/0 but three wickets in quick succession cost us. One more thing was that we were chasing, they had no pressure and we had that added pressure.Talk about your form with the bat in the tournament.I think overall I did okay but I missed out on quite a few starts. I converted only one start and scored sixty odd runs, rest all I fell in the thirties or forties. I feel I should have converted those starts as well but it was a good tournament for me in the first season. In the next season I’ll rectify those errors and come good.How was it being part of the Lyca Kovai Kings franchise?It’s just a start for us and we had only little time to prepare for the tournament. Next year we won’t have this problem and we’ll have the time to work as a group and get to know each other very well. The Lyca Kovai Kings is like a family. Our owner Raju Mahalingam was very supportive we are a bit disappointed that we let him down. He has been travelling with everywhere and the management has been excellent. This is just the start for us – you will see the best Lyca Kovai Kings next year. As a player how have you enjoyed the India Cements TN Premier League personally? It was a good experience for me playing in front of packed crowds, under lights and a live feed. So I learned a lot from this tournament. How was it playing in front of a packed crowd at Chepauk today?It was good but in the middle we were focused on the business of scoring runs.How has it been working with Lance Klusener and other senior cricketers?Working with Lance was a good experience for me with him being a left-hander and me being a left-hander we worked on a lot technique wise, physical and mental aspects. It was a learning curve for me to share a dressing room with a huge cricketing legend. Even Vijay bhaiwas there for two games and he shared some valuable tips with us. Even Syed bhai has played at the highest level and he shared his experience with us. We have learned a lot and our team is young so it’s a plus for us.What are the positives of the tournament for the team?We played as a team, we didn’t have any individual superstar. Everyone chipped in when it mattered be it a bowler or batsmen. I felt that is what is good about our side as no one has an ego in our side. That was a plus point.

Lyca Kovai Kings all-rounder Akshay Srinivasan addressed the media after his team’s 17-run loss to Chepauk Super Gillies in the second semifinal of the India Cements TN Premier League at Chepauk on Saturday. Here is an excerpt of the transcript.

You needed 30 off 15 balls. What happened?

Credit to them as they pulled it off in the end. I think we could have gotten a few boundaries, we planned well, but then we lost wickets at the wrong time. This loss is hard to digest.

Your teams’ good start during the run-chase?

We pegged them back, but then they did very well to reach 160 — a par score on this wicket.

That over by Yo Mahesh!

Mohammed was striking the ball well, but then we needed a boundary off the last ball of the 19th over. Kudos to Mohammed, he tried his best. Also, I got out at the wrong time, a fact which hampered our chances for winning.

On the tournament

It was brilliant! I learnt a lot from the support staff — we had a foreign coach. The overall experience was fantastic.