Published: Sep 03, 2016, 05:30 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 03, 2016, 10:31 PM (IST)
Good Evening, Mālai Vaṇakkam! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Match 12 of the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2016, between Ruby Kanchi Warriors and Chepauk Super Gillies, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday. Both the teams have so far played a couple of games, and have managed to win one and lose the other, as they have a couple of points in their bag. However, Chepauk are placed fourth in the table, ahead of Ruby, who are placed sixth in the table, as both the teams aim for a win here, especially Ruby, who want to rise above in the table, while Chepauk would seek to nourish the home advantage and rise above as well. TNPL 2016 Points Table & Team Standings
With the tournament living up to its standard of a cracker one, TNPL has got the whole nation buzzing. A scenic flood-lit ground, fun loving fans, celebrity commentators, star cricketers as coaches and competitive cricket at the center is what TNPL has been all about since its start. Meanwhile, M Shahrukh Khan of Ruby spoke prior to the match in a press conference, and said that his team is well prepared to face Chepauk in the away tie.
“The last game was bad but then we are trying to take positives from the opener. Also our batting was not that good and even in the last match it did not click as expected. The problem is that we are more worried about our bowling and fielding. Of course, we are good in those areas and can take positives but then we need to find a way to fix our batting. The first six overs are key and we aim to score runs and consolidate during that phase of the game,” he said.
“Our batsmen have experience of playing in such situations. Also the fact that this bunch has played at the Under-13 level makes it better. The batsmen complement each other really well. Playing in front of a large crowd in a live match is a learning experience in itself. Bharath Shankar, Baba Indrajith and I have the onus of shouldering the batting responsibilities. Also, Nilesh Subramanium has done really well which is a good sign. We aim to put on a good batting display in this contest,” he added.
He said about Brett Lee’s impact on the team, by quoting, “I guess he’s coming! We want him and obviously it will be fun as his presence will make a huge difference. Someone like Lee motivating us from the dug-out means a lot to the team. We will probably get some pep-talk from him and he’ll know what exactly goes through a player’s mind thanks to his vast international cricket experience. So we’ll try and get some tips from him before the game.”
Speaking on the tournament, he said, “The motivation of the tournament is to promote cricket in the district areas. Also, people are coming out in large numbers to watch games. We are looking forward to those games as we feel it will be a good experience. We have seen high scoring games [at Dindigul and Tirunelvel’] as in comparison to Chennai. The wicket is very good and the ball is coming on to the bat. I think the batsmen will enjoy it more than the bowlers do.”
Speaking on Chepauk’s batting, he said, “There’s no such plan. In the last game 160 was not a big score. Since both teams have lost one game each it proves that T20s are a roller-coaster ride! One match you’ll be on top and in the other you’ll be down. So you can’t think about it as it’s about how we come back and prepare. It’s been good but we’re still expecting a larger crowd (in Chennai). We want that pressure building on us as it will motivate us further!”
On the other hand, Chepauk’s Yo Mahesh too said some useful insights. “The focus was more on improving as a team. We also had time to introspect on individual performances and where we could improve. I think it was a good break and we have regrouped well within two quality sessions. Every team has that substantial break and luckily for us it’s happening at the start of the tournament. Also, we won the last game so we have made a good positive impact. If we look ahead then we play almost five games in ten days. So, if we can build momentum and start winning it will help us. It’s more of a mental thing. We carry only good memories from the last game,” he said.
“Dindigul was fantastic. The stands were full and it was really nice to see people coming and cheering. It has a beautiful ground and when you have a good crowd it motivates you. It was really a good experience. I gave away a lot of runs in the first over of the last game, but then it happens in T20s. It’s just that you have to bounce back and I’m definitely looking forward to the next game,”he added.
He concluded by saying, “We had a good game and bounced back well. Right now we’re really positive and excited to play the next game. Everyone had scored runs in the last match which is a positive for the team. It’s good to have everyone scoring thirty or forty crucial runs. We would rather have everyone scoring runs than one person scoring throughout the tournament. The fact is if that one player fails then the rest will not have enough time to bat. Our confidence is good. The standard is really good and high-quality cricket is being played. I see a lot of unknown names performing which is really good for Tamil Nadu. Also, the experienced players rubbing shoulders with the unknown guys is fantastic!”
Squads:
Chepauk Super Gillies: Arun Kumar, Rajagopal Sathish (c), Antony Dhas, Gopinath (wk), Joel Joseph, Yo Mahesh, Dakshinamoorthy Kumaran, Sathiamoorty Saravanan, Thalaivan Sargunam, R Alexander, Aditya Barooah, Jothimani Gowjith Subhash, S Karthik, Ashwath Mukumthan, Baskaran Rahul, Rajeel Abdul Rahman, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Uthirasamy Sasidev, V Shibi Jawahar, SI Vasudevan, PS Nirmal Kumar.
Ruby Kanchi Warriors: Baba Indrajith (c), Jagannathan Kaushik, Rangaraj Suthesh, Adithya Ganesh, B Aditya, Nilesh Subramanian (wk), Akkil Srinaath, Anthony Mannays, Bharath Shankar, L Ganesh, Rajamani Jesuraj, Jagatheesan Kousik, Murthy Prabhu, Alagh Prathiban, Ranjan Paul, Shahrukh Khan, S Siddharth, Trilok Nag, Krishna Varun Kumar.
