Gujarat Lions pacer Dhawal Kulkarni heaped praise on opener Aaron Finch saying he showed great character and played one of his best innings to guide them to a three-wicket win over Mumbai Indians.
Asked about the small hamstring problem faced by Finch, Kulkarni said, “We (the team) just hoped he continued playing and thats what he did. He showed great character and helped us win the game and he (Finch) is ok now.”
In-form Australian opener Finch (67 not out) battled a hamstring injury to single-handedly take Gujarat Lions to a last-ball win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in a thrilling IPL match Saturday night.
Kulkarni, who also hit a four in the last over, said, “My game plan was to just give him (Aaron Finch) strike, but anything pitched up I had to slog and luckily (Jasprit) Bumrah bowled a half volley and I could hit a boundary.”
On his bowling performance, he said, “I had performances like these before also, but I wouldn’t rate this as good as I have had in the past. It was my first game for Gujarat Lions, a proud moment for me and playing at the home ground is a special feeling always. I want to play here, want to do well on my home-ground.”
Kulkarni played against his Mumbai team-mate Rohit Sharma and picked up his wicket.
When asked if there was any battle between the two when playing for opposite sides, the right-arm pacer quipped, “I feel I am always there for that battle. When you see your team-mate face you, it gives me that extra energy to bowl at him and he is such a great player and to take his wicket was great moment for me.
“I have always looked up to him and he has always helped me in the Bombay dressing room. On the field we were playing against each other, so there was no friendship. We just wanted to go against each other,” he added.
On his side giving away few runs in the last few overs, Kulkarni said, “Nothing went wrong. It happens in this format. There were quite many loose balls.”
