Karaikudi Kaalai fast bowler speaks about what unsettled the Tuti Patriots

Ganpathi Chandrasekar of Karaikudi Kaalai won the Man of the Match award in his teams’ eight-run win against Albert Tuti Patriots in their India Cements TN Premier League match on Saturday. He addressed the media at the India Cements Ground at Tirunelveli and here is an excerpt of the transcript.

On experienced players taking up responsibility?

We have very few experienced players and we need to step up and set examples for the younger players. Even before the tournament started, we planned that Badri (Subramanium Badrinath), Anirudha (Srikkanth) and myself will step up to the occasion and start performing during crucial junctures. But then in the last two matches we failed and were upset that we weren’t able to contribute as per our plan. We did well as a team in this game though.

Was a target of 111 enough on this wicket?

No, the target wasn’t enough as the par-score was around 130-140. We played on batting wickets in the last two games and we expected the same in this one as well. But then the wicket here was on a slower side. Despite bowling well we never thought of winning the game. Our plan was to bowl according to the wicket, situation and batsmen. I think we did that well throughout to win the game.

Is Anirudha’s form a concern?

He has been doing well in the wicketkeeping department. He has taken the role and it may be noted that he hasn’t kept wickets before. It is heartening for him to come forward to take up that role. It shows that he is ready to take the responsibility. It is the just a matter of form and he will be a much better cricketer. I think he can deliver and we can win more matches.

How difficult it is to keep this winning momentum going thanks to the recovery period being very less?

We are bound to get hit and lose wickets in T20s. I should be shouldering responsibility thanks to my seniority and experience. Also, many of the young cricketers are playing for the first time under lights and during live coverage. We (senior players) have to start performing and keep winning matches so that it adds to the confidence of the whole team.

On left-arm players doing well?

The ball goes away for right-handers when a left-arm spinner bowls. We have a lot of right -handers in the tournament and that is why they are able to do well.

On batting up the order?

We are open to batting in whatever position is given to us. There will be batsmen lining up according to the situation and wicket and we keep changing positions. There is no fixed spot for any player.

On Badrinath’s knock?

We all knew that if Badri stays till the end then we will end up with a very good total. He is someone who can hit the ball and keep it going. Maybe I coming in later will also help. So we thought Badri is going to stay till the end till we get a reasonable total. That was our plan.

Strategies for the last few overs?

They wanted the ball to come on their bat. We thus bowled them slower deliveries. You have to keep varying pace on this type of wicket as it gets hard to hit boundaries.

On the team’s superb fielding?

Robin Singh (head coach) always stresses on fielding and he believes that a team that fields well wins games. He believes that batting and bowling comes only after fielding. We wanted to give 100 percent on the field because he doesn’t compromise on the fielding part.

On crowd support?

The support has always been good in districts but then we didn’t expect so much. Also, we have received good support in Dindigul and Tirunelveli.