Mumbai, Apr 10 : Expressing happiness at his team's comprehensive victory over Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League debut at the D Y Patil Stadium here today , Pune Warriors coach Geoff Marsh said it was a good all-round display from his boys that paid dividends.
“It was the first game, our first time in the IPL with the bat as well as with the ball. It was a good all-round performance,” said the former Australian opener after the match.
“The bowlers bowled really well. They got Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) and Shaun (Marsh) early and continued to keep the pressure on,” he said about reducing the rivals to nine for four inside the first four overs.
“We did not plan that way, it was not in the script,” he said about his son Shaun's dismissal, who was caught at fine leg.
Asked why captain Yuvraj Singh, who took 15 wickets with his left-arm spinners in the World Cup, did not come on to bowl, he replied that it may be because there were many left-handers in the rival team.
“Probably, because there were a lot of left-handers. He was happy with our seamers. He brought on Jesse Ryder who bowled well. Then he brought Mithun (Manhas). There is a lot of time for him to bowl in the tournament. He is still recovering from the World Cup (triumph),” Marsh remarked.
Marsh said batting second did not cause any extra difficulties for his team.
“We were quite happy to bat second. It was a good wicket. In the previous matches four teams have won batting second here and four have won batting first. Toss was not in our hands,” he said.
About his team's next game against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Marsh said, “We will have a brief about this game and sit down and have a chat about what to do. We wanted to win this game and our focus was entirely on it.”
Man-of-the-match Shrikant Wagh, who grabbed three for 16 in three overs, said he could not have hoped for a better debut in IPL.
“I could not have asked for a better start. It was the first game for me. We won and I was man-of-the-match. I am very happy,” said the 22-year-old left-arm pacer from Vidarbha.
“The wicket was good. We had practiced for five-six days. We knew it would help fast bowlers. Captain and coach had devised a plan accordingly. Early wickets helped create pressure and we maintained that throughout,” he added. PTI
