Tillakaratne Dilshan: City Kaitak gelling well, just like a family
After a disappointing first game on Wednesday, City Kaitak have finally managed to get their first win of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2017, beating Galaxy Gladiators Lantau by 6 wickets at the Mission Road Cricket Ground, Mong Kok. Skipper Aizaz Khan led from the front, picking up 1 for 25 with the ball and finishing with 37. However, it was Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scored with 38 off just 29. Kaitak were set modest target of 156 to win. Misbah: Playing in Hong Kong T20 Blitz a different experience
We saw 200 chased down successfully by Kowloon Cantons. Kaitak won the game in 15.2 overs and will be boosted by this win after they failed to defend 199 yesterday. For the Gladiators however, this is their second loss in as many games in the tournament and will want to get a win under their belt when they take on Misbah-ul-Haq-led Hong Kong Island United on Friday.
Dilshan opened the bowling for his side. He chipped in with figures of 1 for 26 in his three overs. The former Sri Lankan cricketer has not bowled in the last 6 months. Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2017: West Indies dominate opening day
“I started bowling today after six months. I did not practice anything. It’s been just six months since I retired. But anytime after a few training session, I can get back to my rhythm,” Dilshan said. Dilshan also went on to say that the team under skipper Aizaz Khan is gelling well. “The team right from the first day is gelling well, just like a family. After yesterday’s loss also, we discussed as a family what went wrong. As a team we are doing really good,” he added.
Dilshan was dismissed for a duck against Kowloon Cantons yesterday but ended up being the top-scorer for his side. He says that he is happy to get some runs today. “Those kind of things happen. On some days the decisions are wrong, we can’t do anything about that. That’s part of the game. I am happy to get some runs today. Hopefully I can continue that in the next couple of games. Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2017: Sammy, Franklin star for Hung Hom JD Jaguars vs Galaxy Gladiators Lantau
As they say that cricket is a great leveller. He received a dubious decision earlier in the tournament but was lucky this time. In the first ball of the fifth over, fast bowler Haseeb Amjad was confident that he had dismissed Dilshan caught behind . Immediately , he and wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara went up, but the umpire remained unmoved. When Dilshan was asked after the match, whether he had nicked it, he casually answered, “Yeah”.
As expected, there was however disappointment in the opposition camp. Galaxy Gladiators’ skipper young Anshuman Rath, who is making giant strides for Hong Kong, said, ” I think City Kaitak played really well, Chris Jordan bowled really well, especially. I just think they played a better game of cricket than us.” Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2017: Dwayne Smith’s smashes 31-ball ton to hand Kowloon Cantons 8-wicket win against City Kaitak
However, Rath does not believe that this wicket was as high scoring as the ones we witnessed on the opening day of the tournament. “I don’t think this wicket was as high scoring as the other games. We have had four games on it already. So, I think 180-190, we would have hoped to defend,” said the 19-year-old skipper.
On his personal form, Rath said,”It’s good to get back to the top of the order again in T20 cricket. I have got two starts and have not kicked on, so, I am a bit disappointed. It’s great to have the likes of (Kumar) Sangakkara and Brian Lara in your camp, who you can sort of speak to. It is a big learning curve for me. So, I can hopefully convert those 40s into big scores.”
Rath has been in tremendous form for Hong Kong lately, striking a brilliant 134 and 85 against Netherlands in the ICC World Cricket League (WCL). Not to forget he scored 88 and an unbeaten 98 before these games against the same opposition in in the Intercontinental Cup. He wants to make the most of having the likes of Kumar Sangakkata and Brian Lara in the dressing room.
“I just try to keep my preparation as simple as possible. I sort of do the things that work for me and I tailor-make my game to different situations. I think it is a mindset thing than technical aspect. Speaking to some of the senior players, getting inside their heads, the likes of Sangakkara, who has played all three formats. So, speaking to them and getting to know how they adjust their games has helped me a lot and is hopefully something I can take forward.”
Having lost both games, Rath believes that this will perhaps give the youngsters in his team a bit more freedom in the upcoming games. “It’s tough, especially since our overseas players have flown in very last minute to play this tournament. It is more of a learning curve for our youngsters to go out there and play with the freedom that the other teams cannot afford to do. It is not good going with 2 games down, but it’s also good in the sense that we can play with freedom and that’s something we would look to do, he said.
Rath has been given – perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity to lead a side consisting of the likes of Sangakkara and Jesse Ryder. Rath says they have been nothing short of supportive so far. “It’s quite difficult, in the sense that you want to take whatever they say on board as well as make your own decisions. They have been awesome, very helpful. They are competitors as well. They have the hunger to win. Whatever they say it is gold dust. So, looking forward to continuing my momentum personally and hopefully try to get a win in the next couple of games,” Rath concluded.
Brief Scores:
Galaxy Gladiators 155 for 9 in 20 overs (Anshuman Rath 42, Courtney Kruger 32; Chris Jordan 3 for 25, Rayad Emrit 2 for 25) lost to City Kaitak 158 for 4 in 15.2 overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 38, Aizaz Khan 36; Anshuman Rath 2 for 36, Assad Vala 1 for 12) by 6 wickets.