Kochi Tuskers Kerala put up a clinical performance to crush Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in Indore. However, their skipper, Mahela Jayawardene addressed the post-match press conference with mixed feelings. While he was happy with the way his boys clicked as a unit to end RR’s hopes of qualifying for the Playoffs, he also rued the lack of consistency of his own team due to which they were left with less than an outside chance of going further in the tournament.
On KTK’s overall performance in their debut IPL season
I’m still disappointed [despite being sixth on the points table]. The way we started [with two back-to-back victories], we looked good to qualify in the top four and even win the tournament. That’s what our goal was. We’ve had our chances but we failed to grab them. This win shows what we can do when we click as a unit. We haven’t been consistent and there’s a lot for us to learn from this season.
On the positives the team can draw from this season
We’ve found quite a few young Indian boys who can deliver and the international guys too have put their hands up and performed. Parthiv, Jadeja, Sree, Vinay Kumar and RP Singh have been brilliant. We’ve got bench strength in Muralitharan and Thissara Perera. We have talent and we have a very good chance of coming back stronger the next year. But we need to keep working hard. It’s not going to come easy for us even in the next season.
On the team’s improved performance after losing the last game
We made some mistakes in that game with bat and ball. In T20 once you make a mistake it’s very hard to make a come back into the game. But today, we had an almost perfect game – with the ball, bat and in the field. Consistency is one area we need to work on.
On RP Singh’s performance in the tournament
RP Singh is a great prospect. He has done well for India as well. He was injured, made a strong comeback and he’s continued his good run in this tournament as well. RP and Sreesanth have spearheaded our bowling attack and it’s good to have such experienced bowlers in our team. It gives our pace attack depth and options to try out different combinations.
On his decision to field first
The other day we couldn’t defend 180. It’s a small ground with a very good batting track. So we took the route of restricting them and then chasing it down. And for that we beefed up our batting.
On whether the track for this game was different from the last one
It was pretty much the same, probably slightly slower than the first day. But it is a very good batting wicket.
On their next game in Chennai
Unfortunately I’m leaving for Sri Lanka tomorrow early in the morning. But I’ll speak to the boys tonight and give them the confidence they need. We need to finish on a high. We beat Chennai in Kochi, so we just need to focus on our strengths and execute our plans. They’re a tough team to beat but we’ve got nothing to lose. I just want the guy to go out there and enjoy their cricket.
