It was sadly another heartbreak, another tough defeat to swallow on the road. It’s been a tough learning curve, this season, and it’s only going to make us tougher for the future. As much as we enjoy the wins, there are times when we have to take a few staps back. And what remains constant in such situations? The B.E.L.I.E.V.E mantra within us to keep moving forward. 

And that is something our star spinner, Piyush Chawla, echoed as he spoke to the media during the post-match conference at Eden Gardens Saturday (May 11).

“T20 cricket is about momentum but (sadly) we didn't get that momentum right from the beginning,” Chawla said.

“Sometimes we bowl well and then we end up not batting that well. Likewise, sometimes we bat well and the bowling is not. So it's not just that we are lacking in one department. As a unit, we have failed in a few games. And we have to accept that fact as a team. Because at the end of the day, it's a team game. These things do happen,” he added.

PC also spoke of *those* small areas that could turn the tide of any cricket match, especially when playing against teams in good form.

“Obviously we have a brilliant lineup. But sometimes just things didn't fall in our place. And as I always say in big games, there are small moments where you have to win as a team. But today sadly, we lost in those small moments,” he said.

Through this season, Piyush has taken ten wickets in ten games and all of them have been big wickets. And tonight, during one of his dismissals, the fans were treated to a PC special - the quick superbly disguised delivery.

“At that particular stage, I was bowling in the slog overs and I got (the wicket of) a batter like Andrew Russell, that too on the shorter side and the last ball of my spell,” the star spinner said.

“I just wanted to close the over. And like the previous over, I bowled one quicker. This season, I hardly bowled the quicker one. Earlier, I used to bowl almost one in every game. But this season, I hardly bowled that. So just to close that over, I bowled that one.

“And putting in a little extra effort, it went a little quicker than what he was expecting. And that's how he mistimed it.”

Paltan, did Piyush Chawla’s performance tonight bring a smile to your face? The veteran spinner has always been a talisman with the ball and his experience is extremely valuable to the team. And ahead of our final hurrah of the campaign next Friday, at the Wankhede, you can be rest assured that PC will bring out his A-game and take it to a new high. Let’s hope to bow out with a decisive win against the Lucknow Super Giants and close the season on a positive note.