Chepauk Super Gillies fast bowler speaks about revenge ahead of TNPL 2016 final

Chepauk Super Gillies player Yo Mahesh addressed the media after the team’s 17-run win against the LYCA Kovai Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai in the second semifinals of the India Cements Tamil Nadu Premier League on Saturday. Excerpts from the interview:

The penultimate over that you bowled was crucial..

Yes, we had planned a lot for the batsmen and the plan was to bowl wider to Harish (Kumar) and M Mohammed. We just stuck to it and executed it well today. The credits must be given to the coach, who strategized it really well. As bowlers, we just implemented the plans and we are happy to be on the winning side.

You lost two wickets early in the innings. So what was the plans for the middle order after that?

If you see our middle order, the batsmen’s game plan was to take the game along as it comes. When there were two quick wickets that fell, the plan was to take quick singles, with an odd boundary here and there and keep the scoreboard ticking. That would set the platform for R Sathish and other batsmen to carry the game later. That was the only strategy we had in our mind.

Did you feel that you were overdoing the wide deliveries?

Not really. If you had seen the situation they were in, they had to go at almost 12 runs per over. So one wide ball here or there is okay, we just concentrated on sticking to the plans. We didn’t want to feed them to their strengths and obviously going wide wasn’t their strength. We were brave enough to stick to the plan.

Is losing wickets in a heap a concern for the team?

It is a concern definitely, but the batsmen tend to re-strategize the plans when we lose couple of wickets early. We tend to lose couple of wickets back to back later in the innings because that is the time when batsmen try to go for their shots. Given the format, it was okay for us to lose wickets because we had enough batsmen left to launch at that point of time.

You are facing the Patriots after the loss in the opener against them..

Yes, the first game we played against them we lost. We are happy to be in a position where we can take revenge (for the loss). They are a very good team and we have momentum on our side. Everyone is stepping up and performing when needed. It is going to be fun tomorrow.

Any special strategic change against them?

There would be changes because each of their batsmen is different and we will probably go back and analyse their strengths and weakness. That is what we have been doing throughout the tournament.

What is important while fielding near the boundary? Courage or more of technical thing?

It is a combination of both. When you are fielding at the boundary, you should want the ball to come to you otherwise you are on a spot of bother. Saying that, yes we worked a lot on the technique during catching sessions. We wanted to save all those two or three runs which can prove vital later. It has happened previously as well where one diving stop or a good catch has mattered. We should know where the boundary line is and we should jump at the right time to take the catch. I was happy that I could save four runs for the team today.