TNPL 2016: We made an incredible comeback after losing three in a row, says Patriots opener Gandhi

Albert Tuti Patriots opener Kaushik Gandhi spoke exclusively to the India Cements TN Premier League website on Thursday ahead of his team’s semi-final against Dindigul Dragons at the India Cements Limited Ground at Sankarnagar, Tirunelveli. Excerpts from the interview:

On preparations for the semi-finalsIt is going on, we just landed in Tirunelveli, and Dinesh (Karthik) and Abhi (Abhinav Mukund) have joined us. So, we will have a practice session, and let us see how it goes. Also, we are bolstered by the presence of our captain.

What about winning three games in a row after faltering in the middle games?Yes, though, we lost the second, third, and the fourth game, we still managed to bounce back. We had to concentrate on the net run-rate and win all the three games in order to qualify (for the semifinals).

Despite being in that situation, this comeback wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the owners, coaches, support staff and the management. They had the faith that we could do well and qualify.

We also knew that if we could qualify for the semis, Dinesh and Abhi would soon join us. At no point, anyone thought that we were out of the tournament. Yes, we were pushed to the wall, and had to win three out of three, but I think that worked for us. We didn’t have any other option.

On Washington Sundar, Dinesh Karthik and finding form himselfPersonally, I go by the eleven versus eleven players’ tactics. Just because we have big names like Dinesh or Abhinav, and the opposition don’t have any such players, that doesn’t mean we are at an advantage. Yes, they will certainly add value, and we are also confident of our batting line-up.

But then, a single batsmen can’t win you a game as everyone will need to contribute. We will look to win and each and every one of us will hope to make it count as a team.

Have you come up with a different strategy considering that you lost to Dragons in the super-over in the league phase?Look, every game is in the back of our minds, and we want to keep learning from the games that we have played in - be it the ones we have won or lost. We know their strengths and weaknesses as we have faced them in this very same ground.

We don’t know if R Ashwin is joining the team, but even if he does, we know what he has in mind. We have our strategy for our players and we hope to do our best.