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| Our bowlers did a fantastic job - Kotak |
At Eden Gardens for their match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, captain Suresh Raina
told his team that it was time for Gujarat Lions to 'restart', with his
side floundering at eighth place on the table. He did exactly that,
leading the way with a 46-ball 84 which gave his side a four-wicket
victory and helped him become India's leading T20 run-getter.
In the previous
match between the two teams earlier this season, Chris Lynn's
systematic decimation of Lions' attack meant that Knight Riders had
chased down 184 with ten wickets in hand and more than five overs to
spare. Raina believed his team had played well in that game too, and
wanted them to feed off the positive morale in the camp.
"Right from the moment I won the toss, I was getting a lot of positive
vibes. I knew we had done well against them [KKR] in the previous game
though the match got over in just 14 overs [14.5] when Chris Lynn hit us
to all parts of the ground," Raina told iplt20.com. "That loss
hurt the team and me. I addressed the team and told them this is the
game where we restart and go all guns blazing. The team was high on
morale when we walked out on the field and the result is there to be
seen. I have been getting good support from Brad Hodge and Mohammad Kaif
who have been spreading a lot of positive vibes in the team. It was a
great team effort."
Lions' chase of 188 on Friday was hardly an easy one. Despite an
aggressive start from openers Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum, the team
was struggling at 122 for 5 in the 13th over, and went into the last
seven overs needing 64. Raina negotiated the opposition's most effective
bowlers - Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav - over the next few overs,
eking out a boundary in every over. Once Sunil Narine's four overs were
seen off, Raina went after Nathan Coulter-Nile, hammering the Australian
fast bowler for two fours and a six in a 16-run over that brought the
equation down to 17 runs off 18 balls.
Raina said that nearly a decade of watching and batting with MS Dhoni,
in the India dressing room and at Chennai Super Kings, had helped him
pick up lessons on keeping the required rate in check.
"I love batting in pressure situations and it is a challenge I relish,"
he said. "I have batted with him [Dhoni] for almost ten years now and
always admired how he would finish games for the side. I have learnt how
to cut down on asking rates from 9 per over to a 7 per over from him.
The middle overs in a T20 game is very important and you need to take
calculated risks. It is something that I did tonight and have learnt
over the years. I was hitting the ball really well and looked to be
positive throughout my innings though wickets were falling at the other
end.
"When you are a captain, you are there to win a game and set examples
for your side. It is something that I have learnt from Dhoni while
playing with him for India and Chennai Super Kings."
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