Captain Aaron Finch was at a loss for words to explain Pune Warriors’ failure to defend a target of 179 against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League match at the SMS Stadium here on Sunday.
“I am not really sure. I think we played very good throughout the match; just one of those days when Rajasthan played equally good. Both the teams batted extremely well from the start and set up the innings and unfortunately for us there was probably one or two big overs that really cost us towards the end. They needed 30 (sic:29) off three overs and probably it just got a bit too close in the end and we were not able to defend it unfortunately.”
Class player
Finch praised Rahul Dravid for his brilliant batting. “Dravid is such a class player and the way he has been able to change his game to adapt to Twenty20 cricket over the last couple of years is a credit to himself. One thing about Twenty20 cricket is about the guys who are the best Test players seem to be the best Twenty20 players as well, simply because they understand the game. Good technique is still required to play this form of the game.”
‘Man of the match’ Ajinkya Rahane played to his potential. “I am happy that we won the game. I think 180 was not easy to chase but overall our team did well. Especially, I felt our bowlers, last six to seven overs, were pretty good and we came back very strongly.”
On CT omission
On his omission from the Indian team for the Champions Trophy, Rahane said, “Selection is not in my hand and I was not thinking about that. I just wanted to play well and do some contribution towards my team, and that’s what I did. The pitch was much better than the last few games.”
