Winning skipper Hardik Pandya's inspirational show earns praise from all
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00:00All the captains in this IPL, win the toss, bat second. And in fact, when you talk about RR, they have lost three tosses and they have won three games defending a title.
00:12Hello, good evening. Here's a very warm welcome to all our viewers for another special edition
00:27of Straight Bat with Mr. Cricket UAE. We have just come out of another riveting match where
00:36Gujarat Titans, they showed a tremendous show of character to bounce back into winning ways
00:41with a 37-run win over Rajasthan Royals. So to talk about it, we have got Mr. Anish Sajan,
00:48the man himself. We've got cricket enthusiast Sahil with me, Sahil Sajan, and the Gulf News
00:55Sports Editor, aka Satish. And of course, this is Gautam of Gulf News, I'll be anchoring you
01:01through the show. First up, I would like to ask Anisbhai that, yes, it's definitely a good show
01:09of character from Gujarat Titans. They had a poor start. Then Hardik Pandya, he played the
01:17true role of a captain. He was in the thick of things with the trainings of 87. Then again,
01:23when they were defending the target. But obviously, Rajasthan Royals didn't get the script
01:28right. Right from I feel the decision to, it is almost becoming a mechanical decision that you
01:34win the toss, I got to chase, I won't take a look at the wicket, I won't look at the possibility of
01:40putting runs on the board by batting first. So what do you think about it, Anisbhai?
01:46Thank you, Gautam. Hello, Satish. Hi, Sahil. And hello to all the lovely people of Gulf News.
01:51You've actually hit the nail by your assessment, Gautam, like all the captains in this IPL,
01:58win the toss, bat second. And in fact, when you talk about RR, they have lost three tosses,
02:05and they won three games defending a title. So that is one point. But when the opposition
02:11captain leads from the front with the bat, with the ball, and in the field, he gives out a signal
02:17to the opposition that here, I'm here to win the game. And when on the other hand, a team which
02:21has got a rollicking start, sends, I don't know for what reasons, Ravi Chandran Ashwin as the
02:27number three batsman to hide Ashwin or to attack Rashid Khan, only probably Satish and all the
02:34other guys will probably say, all the fans might say, it's mind boggling. And I believe he's
02:39following the same footstep as my dear KL Rahul is doing. But good luck to RR for this, you know,
02:48and that is what has cost them the game, I believe.
02:51Right. Yeah, I mean, since you've spoken about Ashwin and Satish, I'll come to Satish first.
02:59See, I mean, you need to experiment when you need to experiment or when things are not
03:06clicking for you. Just when four games down the line, you're looking to have a settled lineup.
03:11Rajasthan Royals have suffered so much with their opening partnership, number three,
03:18number four. When you're kind of showing signs of settling down, why suddenly Ashwin?
03:24Gautam, really, it's a baffling decision because of a few things. One,
03:28Josh Butler is hitting the ball so well. All you need is another batsman like Sanju Samson.
03:34See, I have great regard for Sanju as a batter, as a cricketer. But I don't understand what kind
03:40of a logic he has as a captain. That's why I'm quite, you know, like, I'm very vocal about it.
03:46This is a very baffling decision, which I don't know why you have to send Ashwin for two reasons.
03:51One is, Butler is batting beautifully and he's not even hitting the ball. He's striking in
03:58gaps and he's picking fours and sixes at will. At that point of time, you need to keep the momentum
04:04and key, rotate the strike and ensure that Butler gets his knock as frequently as possible.
04:10That's one aspect of it. And second, if you're thinking Ashwin as a pinch hitter, only last
04:16match he got himself retired out saying that somebody else can come and hit the ball.
04:22So what is the logic in sending somebody as a pinch hitter when he can't hit? It's a baffling
04:29decision. You can try out few things, but you need to try out in a sensible term.
04:35This didn't make any sense or it was even any wild sense of imagination. This doesn't
04:41figure how it could be done even in a club level cricket. I don't know.
04:47Exactly. But yes, I mean, to give the credit where it's due, I'll come to Sahil now.
04:52Sahil, this was, you know, hyper bowls, we often tend to say a lot of good things,
04:58but here it was Hardik really all over the place. I mean, right from the way he
05:04had a plan, he along with Manohar, he was planning to take the match deep
05:10and then go for the assault. Then again, in the field, he was simply outstanding that lightning
05:15directed and he also came on to bowl. We just hope that the hand injury is not too serious.
05:21Your take, Sahil, about what you saw of Hardik today?
05:25Like I had mentioned many times before, you know, he's come out this tournament,
05:29he has a point to prove. He's our captain now and he's playing with so much maturity, like
05:34he's taken the step of coming at number four and he's playing in the start. Suppose if
05:41Gujarat Titans lose someone early, he's coming in, he's not scared, he's ready to face all the
05:46fast bowlers in the start and he's bowling also well and like you said, he's fielding absolutely
05:51brilliantly. There's a point to prove and Hardik Pandey is currently proving it
05:55really well compared to everyone else, he's making a spot. I'll come to Anishbhai with that.
06:04So the Gujarat Titans, I mean, we have discussed in the past also that how in four matches, in the
06:09previous four matches, they showed the potential to gel as a team. I mean, without the so-called
06:16big names but they're also showing that if you give responsibility to certain players, I mean,
06:21experienced players who may not have been that much utilized. I mean, David Miller is a very
06:27good example of the importance that is being attached to him in the lineup. So what do you
06:32think about this? Are they taking advantage of the fact that nobody really took them
06:37as seriously and the spotlight was totally on Lucknow Super Giants among the two newcomers?
06:43What do you feel Anishbhai? You know what Gautam, when you say that they are taking advantage, no. I
06:49would say that they are playing proper cricket like I just wrote a piece yesterday, it just
06:54actually went with today's game that the captains are not leading from the front
06:59but when a captain leads from the front, it rubs on the other players of the team
07:03and I'm not saying just because today David Miller scored runs or the youngster went on to score
07:08some runs but it actually rubs on because you feel that no, I also need to deliver for my team
07:13and for my captain and when you have a captain who does everything, we all know he's a batsman
07:18and like Sahil said, he's coming at number four and he's not shying away. He's ready to take the
07:22opposition on wherein in the other case we saw today, today was the ideal opportunity for Sanju
07:28Samson to come at number three because Josh Butler was striking at probably 200-225 strike rate.
07:35He had easy chance to get into his own role and not start attacking, get the singles
07:42and get his eye in but by sending a weaker player, you are either giving a wrong signal
07:47that no, I am either scared to face the fast bowling or I am giving the opposition a point
07:53that no, we are relaxed, we are 50-for-1. I don't know how it can be taken across but I
07:58heard one comment of one of an expert and I totally agree that what sort of opposition,
08:03what message a captain gives to the opposition, that's how the team works and today,
08:08Gujarat Titans has given a clear opposition, they are here to win, they are not here to shy away.
08:13Whether they will go on to win the tournament is a different thing but they are giving a message,
08:17we are here to win and the captain is leading it from the front.
08:20Here, the intent is coming through very clearly and I will ask Satish this,
08:27bowling on the kind of wickets that Mumbai and Pune that we have seen so far,
08:33maybe it will get a bit tired in the second leg of the tournament. With this kind of an
08:38attack, today they unleashed Yash Dayal, this bowler from UP and he is a perfect bowler for,
08:46he is a perfect T20 bowler, I would say. So, do you think this is certainly giving them the edge
08:51and if they can combine a resolute character in their batting, they can go far? What do you think,
08:57Satish? Gautam, I would come back to the same old point, it's all about Captain Siaz and his
09:02by-sales as we spoke about. I think Hathik Pandya is giving the space for everybody to perform and
09:09he is not putting pressure, even when this newcomer was hit by a butler all over the park and he was
09:15playing it. I didn't see Hathik Pandya losing his cool or getting agitated. He was quite calm,
09:22he made his changes, he brought in his trump card and he got his wicket, Rashid Khan basically.
09:31So, he got his wicket and he is playing it cool. So, the captain gets the best out of you.
09:37So, that way, I would say anybody coming in, this is exactly what Dhoni did, this is exactly what
09:43Kohli did. Yes, of course, Rohit Sharma did it for many years in IPL but I would say this is all
09:51from the captaincy, maybe he has learned it from Rohit Sharma, he has learned it from Kohli.
09:55So, it's a pretty good setup, I would say and it's a win-win situation for Gujarat from here.
10:01Yeah, I mean, into the third week or with the third week closing in, he has suddenly
10:08looked the sharpest among the new captains and I mean, while we hope both the teams the best,
10:15we will move on to tomorrow's clash before we round off this discussion. So,
10:21now what has happened is the league table is varying, a really interesting look. You've got
10:27Gujarat Titans, the first team to get to eight points and they are now on top of the table
10:32and you have got five teams, it is almost like a golf league, five teams at six points.
10:38So, this is really interesting and you've got KKR taking on Sunrisers, Hyderabad who are again
10:47appear to be a resurgent team after two back-to-back wins, long way to go but an
10:53interesting game on the cards. So, Satish, what do you feel about it? I still feel the Sunrisers are
11:00weak in the team. Yes, they can certainly score an odd win here, there. Even the last game,
11:06if you look at, was there a referral, Kane would have been gone very early and that would have
11:12opened up their batting. So, on paper, I would say Sunrisers are still weak but as you said,
11:19the wickets are varying now and probably Kolkata has got a couple of the best spinners in the IPL.
11:27So, I would say it's advantage Kolkata from now on because they have Narayan, they have Varun
11:33Chakravarthy and they have some good attacking batters. So, I would say Kolkata tomorrow,
11:40they have a pretty good edge over Sunrisers.
11:50I think as simple as that, I will go for KKR. As mentioned, they have two
11:55good spin duos, Varun and Narayan and currently Narayan is in the form of his life. I think we
12:00can easily say that that is the same. Sunil Narayan back in 2014 where he was unplayable,
12:06one of the most economical bowlers and currently this season, the way he has played in those five
12:11games, literally not even one batsman is able to play him properly. So, I think I'm going to go
12:16with KKR. Yes, KKR's batting, some things needs to change. I think Ajinkya Rahane should sit out
12:21as much as I like the guy but he's not batted well at all. Let's be honest here.
12:26Excepting the game against Chennai.
12:28That game also target was set of 120.
12:31I think Sanju and Rahane, they have a little, they score in one game and then after that,
12:37they go into a lean patch and then they come back very late. I don't know why it is. Anyway,
12:42sorry to interrupt.
12:44No, no, it's absolutely right.
12:46I just wanted to pick your brains like anybody is free to answer. I mean,
12:49what are the options KKR have available to partner Venkatesh as an opener
12:55with this team that they have?
12:57They'll have to go to the squad. Nobody remembers who is in that squad.
13:01Exactly. I mean, they don't. Yes, I mean, Aaron Finch is coming.
13:06That's the thing. But then they'll have a tough call of which overseas player to drop.
13:12I mean, their overseas players actually pick themselves.
13:15Exactly.
13:16You can't drop Sunil Narine and Russell and you can't drop Cummins.
13:20So then you're left with, and you can't drop Billings either. I mean, he's doing it.
13:25I believe Billings can be dropped, Gautam. Trust me, he's not done anything great.
13:29Billings is one guy they need to look ahead. I mean, he doesn't have a great strike rate as much
13:34as you feel that he's.
13:38That he doesn't.
13:40So if you want to actually drop Rahane and get a foreign player in Aaron Finch,
13:45not that Aaron Finch will come and start showing some great signs,
13:49but there's no harm because the tournament, before it gets to the business,
13:53and you can't just try him at the business end. You give him some match games because
13:56how have you given to others?
13:58Even Hales is there.
14:01Alex Hales is there.
14:02No, no, he's dropped out.
14:03He's dropped out.
14:07Shail, you were saying something. Shail, what is your choice?
14:09Yes, I would. I mean, I'm not a big fan of Sam Billings, to be honest.
14:16Tell why you're not a big fan of Sam Billings.
14:18I have my reasons. He's a good guy, no doubt. But I think,
14:22but then KK, I need to search someone in the middle order in the Indian category.
14:26And I think Aaron Finch, even I don't like Aaron Finch, to be honest,
14:29the way he played in the Pakistan series, he's played really poorly.
14:33He's not a reliable batsman.
14:35He scored a 15, only T20.
14:38I mean, but he's not been a great T20 player in India.
14:42If you've seen back in the series, when he plays against India in India,
14:46he's been poor. For RCB also, he was a huge failure, like a big failure. So I'm not sure.
14:53I would, I think, I would go with Finch. And you have a very good wicketkeeper,
14:59Sheldon Jackson. I think he did quite well against Chennai, getting a couple of quick
15:04stumping. So I think that will be a good choice to go to Finch and then drop Billings.
15:09Give it a shot.
15:12I think once Finch has come in and he's passed his quarantine,
15:16they will not let this opportunity go. I mean, that is where the star quotient does come in.
15:23And when actually, I mean, this is for three matches on the trot,
15:27now. ESN is by your take, you know.
15:31On paper, obviously, KKR looks the better team. But like yesterday,
15:35we thought RR is the better team. This IPL is giving surprise after surprise.
15:40So I would go with the other team today, just to go the other side.
15:47Don't tell me that you want to support your home state, Hyderabad.
15:52No, no, no, no. I'll be very honest, as much as I like KKR because of Shahrukh Khan.
15:57But the fact remains, this IPL is a lot of surprises. So in fact, since we are talking
16:03about it, we were discussing at my home. So Satish said, which team is going to win the IPL?
16:09Gujarat.
16:10Okay, he's now said Gujarat. I'm still sticking to Delhi. Sahil said?
16:16Rajasthan Royals.
16:18What about you, Gautam? Who will win the IPL? It's a very difficult lottery question.
16:22It is very difficult. I can say that certainly not Chennai and Mumbai at this point.
16:29So pick one team out of the four, if you want.
16:33Yeah, see, I would like to say Rajasthan Royals.
16:37Yes. Okay, so Sahil and Mr. Gautam, Rajasthan Royals.
16:40But we are all forgetting RCB here. RCB is also a good team. We are forgetting them.
16:44No, but everybody has a choice. But I think Mr. Gautam and Sahil are going with RR because
16:50they feel Ashwin is the man to lead them to the title with his batting at number three.
16:57He tries too many things. Yeah, that's the problem. Anyway, so yes, I think the consensus
17:04is towards KKR. I think it all depends on how the match pans out. If Sunrisers Hyderabad
17:13are defending a modest total, then I would still give them a chance because Ken Williamson is very
17:20good to come up with some messes up his sleeves. And KKR batting the Cavalier, KKR batting in the
17:26top and the middle order, that may cause a few problems. I mean, they still don't have,
17:31they don't have a Dinesh Karthik anymore. So we'll have to see how it goes. Otherwise, overall,
17:37yes, the vote would certainly go towards KKR. And on that note, thank you for joining me for
17:43this discussion. And tomorrow, again, we'll be back at the same time. Gautam, just to interrupt,
17:49I think Anesbhai, we can talk about the competition also. Oh, yeah, every day we have a competition
17:55where we have to predict the winner. I know predicting the winner in this IPL is very tough.
17:59But you are smart enough, follow your favorite page Gulp News and predict the winner and walk
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