Lasith Malinga played an important role in keeping the competitors on a tight control, get the jump on the Mumbai Indians bowling attack once again. The Sri Lankan player in his first over sends back Virender Sehwag and then makes his come back in the death overs to ensure that the Kings XI Punjab, who though were trying hard through David Miller and George Bailey but didn’t get out of jail. Malinga also sends back David Miller back to pavilion by putting his name two times for 31, and help his crew members to led his squad to the victory.
Malinga, while talking to iplt20.com after the match, he told about he had a good time out in middle and bowling with accuracy
Excerpts:
After all these years do you feel the pressure, especially in a must-win game like today’s?
Honestly I don’t know what pressure means. I just really enjoy when I am bowling my four overs. And I am always looking forward to doing what the team needs at that moment. And from the moment I am given the ball, I go and enjoy my bowling.
How important was it to get Virender Sehwag’s wicket, even when he is not amongst runs?
We all know how good a player Viru is. An early wicket is always important in a T20 game. From my team’s point of view, it was really good to get his wicket early. He is a big player.
What were your plans for him?
Nothing specific; we wanted to bowl good first six overs, bowl accurately. If we got a wicket it was a bonus for us. We don’t plan according to the batsmen; we plan as per our strengths, to bowl well in the first six overs.
You bowled that one over in the first spell and then were brought back in the later part of the innings. What was the plan?
We wanted to bowl really good first six overs. It is for the captain to decide (the bowling changes) depending on what is needed at the time.
First six overs are very important. How crucial would you say are the last five overs?
In T20 every single over is really important; it doesn’t matter whether it’s the first six or last five. Since batsmen want to hit every single ball the bowler has to concentrate. The bowler has to concentrate on every ball and bowl according to the match situation.
Was it about patience and restricting the runs when David Miller and George Bailey were in the middle and looking to take it to the end?
Yes! Never mind who the batsman, we were working on doing our best and playing to our strengths. That is what Vinay (Kumar), (Mitchell) McClenaghan and myself plan, to bowl according to the situation and what the team needed at that moment.
What was the team’s focus on in this match – was it about looking for wickets or restricting runs?
I don’t specifically focus on taking wickets. But if we try to restrict the boundaries then the batsmen want to hit every single ball and they are forced into making a mistake. That is the basic plan all teams have for their bowlers. We want to bowl good balls.
What is the key to your bowling?
Key is to concentrate on my bowling and I want to bowl every single ball accurately. I am always thinking about bowling accurately, never mind (whether they are) yorkers or bouncers or slower balls. Whatever the ball (type of delivery) I want to be accurate.
How has it been bowling with McClenaghan and Vinay Kumar?
They are international bowlers; they know what they can do and what the team needs. I am really enjoying bowling with these two bowlers.
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