Baba Aparajith, skipper of VB Thiruvallur Veerans, spoke to the media after his match-winning knock of 118 runs in 63 deliveries against Karaikudi Kaalai in their India Cements TN Premier League match in Natham, Dindigul, on Thursday. The swashbuckling knock helped his side win by five wickets.
The target was stiff and you had lost a wicket early. So was counter-attacking your game plan?
I wanted to go hard in that over (against Kiran Akash) and I didn’t play high-risk shots. Everything fell in place in that over and I got a few boundaries. It was not planned since I just wanted to go hard and play with good intent. That over gave us momentum because we had hardly scored in the first three overs.
Were you worried when wickets were falling at the other end?
In the beginning, I was worried a bit. But when the leg-spinner came on, I thought I will take him on. I think Malo (Malolan Rangarajan) played an important knock because after a point, I wasn’t able to hit any runs. Between 80-90, I didn’t hit even a single boundary.
Was it a plan to get your century with a six?
Not at all. At one point, I didn’t know how much score I was on.
What did you make of the pitch?
The wicket was good in both the innings and since the ground was a bit smaller, it helped that the team was chasing. But 165 was tough. Even I didn’t know what to do when I won the toss because it was a tough decision to take on that pitch.
Will there be pressure on your team when you leave them (for Duleep Trophy)? I don’t think so since this doesn’t happen every game. Every game you can’t hit a 100 in a
Twenty20 match. We have 18 other very good players and even if one or two of them get off to a good score, then I think it will be great. We have match-winners in our side and you will see that in the upcoming games.
What does this victory mean to your team?
It means a lot since in a T20 tournament it is important to get off to a winning start. It will give us the much-needed momentum going into the tournament.
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