He’s a good friend of mine, inside the field it should be like that, but we don’t take things personally. (On his bowling) I wasn’t getting as much purchase today, so had to bowl defensively and had to do a job for the team. The pitch played better than it looked. (On Suryakumar Yadav) He played well, he swept all my good length balls. If someone plays a good shot, you have to credit the batter. I have to credit Shubman, he kept advising me on what to bowl to Surya since he’s seen him in the Indian nets. Looking forward to this season, I've been very honest with myself and worked very hard. Have watched a lot of games and worked on a lot of things for this season, so looking forward to this season.
Tough to put it together, I think in batting and bowling we were 15-20 runs short in both places. We were not professional in the field, we made basic errors and that cost us 20-25 runs and in a T20 game that is quite a lot. They (GT openers) batted brilliantly, only a couple of deliveries here and there. They were quite exceptional, they didn't take many chances, they did the right stuff, they were able to get runs without playing many risky shots. We were doing catch-up since then. At the moment we all need to take responsibility, it's early stage. Batters have to come to the party, hopefully they do that soon. On this wicket they (slower deliveries) were the toughest balls, some were shooting, some were bouncing, as batters it becomes difficult.
A bit unsure of this pitch, definitely not like the one that was used for the GT vs PBKS game. It is a different clay to the other surface, and this pitch could play a bit two-paced. The pitch looks a bit patchy, where 180 could be par. There will be enough for the bowlers, for change of pace. New ball might kiss off the surface. Don’t think it will be as good batting conditions as the earlier game at this venue. Both teams look consistent, they’d both like to chase just in case there is some dew, but don’t think this surface suits one team over the other. You got to play your best cricket to win.
Batted first plenty of times here, so nothing changes for us. It is all about assessing the conditions and seeing what target we can set, and if we are chasing it is about how to get to that target. We have got the same team, might see one change with the impact sub. We want to have a lefty - righty combination, and Jos has been playing at 3 for England, so nothing changes for him.
We'll bowl first. The simple reason is we don't know how the pitch will play, plus the dew factor. Only last year we played on black soil, otherwise we have been playing on red soil. Last year, we had the game under wraps but couldn't finish it. The prep has been fantastic, the boys are excited and we back each other, be there for each other. Very happy stage. I come back, and the others we are keeping the options open. Always about playing good cricket, planning right and enjoying the game.
Mumbai Indians had a tough outing at Chepauk, where the sluggish pitch didn’t allow their batting lineup to flourish. But now, playing at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the conditions are expected to be far more favorable for stroke-makers. Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Tilak Varma will have the opportunity to go big, while Suryakumar Yadav will look to regain form. With Pandya back and possibly slotting into the middle order, MI’s batting should have more depth. Can they make the most of the batting-friendly conditions and put up a strong total against GT?