Ishwar Pandey (left) light up the CSK bowling attack in a low-scoring tie against DD © IANS
Although former champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Daredevils (DD) in Match 49 of the 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL), at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday, fast-bowler, Ishwar Pandey, who came in as a replacement for Ashish Nehra, light up the CSK bowling attack in a low-scoring tie.
Speaking in an interview with iplt20.com, he said, “The wicket wasn’t so easy. It was a bit two-paced. So Mahi bhai [MS Dhoni] told us to try and bowl in the good areas and try to bowl dot balls.”
On being asked if he drew inspiration from Zaheer Khan and thought he could defend the low total, he said, “Yes. Zaheer is a very experienced player and the way he bowls in T20 you can learn from him how to bowl, and what [type of deliveries to bowl] and when [to bowl particular deliveries].” READ: IPL 2015: Zaheer Khan says planning must be perfect against MS Dhoni
“The wicket wasn’t easy. We didn’t know what total we would be able to put up and so [when it came to defending] we were trying to bowl in the right areas,” he added.
Pandey has evolved really good in the tournament so far as a bowler, to which he calmly said, “I am backing myself. I have a natural out-swinger and I am working more on that. I have also developed a slower one but I haven’t needed that yet because you can’t bowl slower ones in the beginning. So I try and bowl to my strengths, which is the out-swinger.”
“I have a very simple ‘funda’. I don’t think too much about what the batsman will do or will not do. I just try to bowl my best and according to the wicket,” he gently added.
Despite being economical, in his initial overs, he was hit for 20 runs in his final over by Shreyas Iyer and Yuvraj Singh, on which he said, “In this format while you will have good overs, there will be times when you will be hit. You have to keep yourself calm and back yourself to be able to make a comeback. It is better if you are prepared [and accept] that it is going to happen.”
Speaking on MS Dhoni’s role as a skipper and his support, he said, “He is very good. He doesn’t put any pressure on you. When you are hit for boundaries, he still backs you; he’ll walk up to you and say, ‘if you don’t get hit, how will you learn?”
“We have a good team with very good players. Everyone is very supportive. We have had a few ups and downs. We lost today as well but we will look to make a strong comeback,” he concluded by speaking on his teams strategy in the upcoming games.