Our winning run against CSK in Chennai came to an end, but one of the massive positives for us was the discovery of Nehal Wadhera, who brought up his maiden IPL fifty to take our total score to 139/8 after a wobbly start. 

“We lost three early wickets early but it happens in cricket. Overall, we batted well today but I think we were about 15-20 runs short. I think if we had those runs the game might have been very different,” he said in the post-match press-conference. 

“Today, it was difficult to hit the pacers because the ball was not coming onto the bat properly. Even with the new ball, Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande used slower ones well.” 

Nehal first combined with SKY and then with Stubbs to stitch two fifty-run stands. “The conversation between me and Surya bhai was that we need to build a partnership otherwise it would be difficult for the team to score a big target,” he said. 

SKY, however, fell in the 11th over while trying to up the ante, leaving the mantle fair and square on the young shoulders of the 22-year-old.

“We were playing according to plan but unfortunately, Surya bhai got out to Jadeja. After his wicket, I had the target of batting till the 16th over at least with minimum risks while hitting the loose balls.

“I knew that on this pitch I need to take proper time to build the innings which can be a good total for the team as well.”

Speaking on facing that slinging action from Matheesha Pathirana, he said that it was the first time he was facing him and he would have a better plan the next time the two go head-to-head, and was also confident about not walking across his stumps as much. 

“This was the first time I was facing him. He is not the type of bowler we face every day. But next time, whenever he comes, I would have better plans for him so that I can score more runs against him.” 

“It was my first game here in Chennai and also my first fifty in the IPL. I love batting under pressure. It was fun batting in Chennai but it was not an easy wicket to bat on.”

Okay, let’s quickly put this tough loss behind us. We head back to Mumbai to face the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a crucial encounter on May 9. Our fortress beckons!