Harbhajan Singh applauds Mumbai Indians for their fielding against the Chennai Super Kings - IPL
The Mumbai Indians clinched a well-fought victory in the Indian Premier League-4, against Chennai Super Kings yesterday, on April 22, 2011 at the Wankhede stadium where they handed Chennai a close 8-run defeat.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who raged like a livewire against his rivals with a five-wicket haul, said that his team’s fielding was better than that of the opponents. He confessed that the squad felt fearful of being short of runs to win after they were
through with their batting innings. The effective fielding saved the team almost 20 odd runs which helped them conquer the Super Kings.
“To be honest when we started (to field) we did speak about that we might be 10-15 runs short. Lot of credit to the way we fielded today. We saved about 20-odd runs. That's what we discussed when we were about to go for fielding,” said Harbhajan.
The bowler admitted that Chennai is a strong contender and he cited Mumbai’s fielding to be the only department where they outshined Chennai.
Harbhajan said that he and his team-mates feel great about overwhelming the sturdy competitor. "If we compare what we did better than Chennai I feel we fielded much better. I think fielding was the main reason we won today. We know how strong a side they
are. It's always nice to beat a strong opposition," Harbhajan explained.
He credited Kieron Pollard, the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 all-rounder, for turning the tables in their favour by restricting Michael Hussey’s batting innings at 41 runs. Pollard plunged forward to take a difficult catch on Lasith Malinga’s delivery.
After Hussey walked out of the field, the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820.
Harbhajan said that cutting off Hussey’s and Dhoni’s innings was a necessary move because any target looks small when the duo is on the loose.
A sublime Subramaniam Badrinath played his innings smoothly and earned 71 runs off 48 balls, plundering seven boundaries and two sixes for the Mumbai Indians. However, he did not manage to push his side to victory as he was not allowed to get any strikes
in the last overs.
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