IPL 2017 Final: It Has Been All-Fun To Work With Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Says Steven Smith

May 21, 2017 at 9:02 PM

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IPL 2017 Final: It Has Been All-Fun To Work With Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Says Steven Smith

Indian Premier League franchise Rising Pune Supergiant’s skipper Steven Smith revealed he is happy to be the part of hard-working team while adding wicket-keeper batsman and former skipper of Supergiant has played a significant role alongside team coach Stephen Fleming for IPL 2017 season, which has been further fun for him as a team leader.

“It has been a great little ride. We have played some great cricket to make it this far. Obviously, it has been a lot of fun to work with [Stephen] Fleming and MS Dhoni to try and get the best out of this group that we have,” Smith revealed in his press conference before the IPL 2017 final.

The 27-year-old Smith was excited and pretty much satisfied before the start of the final.

With just one win away to script the history in IPL, Smith is finding it as the biggest challenge, as it would eventually be the last season for Supergiant to see Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings making a comeback, in the next edition after they were defunct owing to the spot-fixing scandal which surfaced in 2013.

“It has obviously been a pretty compacted tournament this year. So the fact that we had a couple of days break to relax and regroup after a really good game against Mumbai, it has been nice,” Smith said.

However, as a skipper and as a player he is eyeing to lift the maiden IPL trophy, as they are wrestling with formidable Mumbai Indians side which has decided to bat first after winning the toss at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

“We have played some consistent cricket at the back end of this tournament, which is very important heading into the business end. Great to have played the way we have,” Smith added.

The Sydney-born Smith, who has been the top scorer for his side with 421 runs in 15 matches at an average of 38.27 which further, included two fifties.

While reflecting on the tournament, Smith stated it has been a great ride to work alongside two experienced campaigners particularly in the shortest of the format in cricket while effusively praising youngsters.

“Yeah, those guys are quite young and haven’t played these kind of high-pressure final games. That can play into your favour sometimes because you can just come out and play with freedom,” Smith revealed.

Even after claiming the title, according to the IPL rules the Steven Smith-led side won’t get any extension.

“I thought Washington was absolutely fantastic against Mumbai the other night, for a 17-year-old to come out on the big stage against some quality players and to do what he did was outstanding,” Smith remarked.

After Mahendra Singh Dhoni was unceremoniously sacked by the Supergiant management, the side has found a solace to see a new skipper work alongside the former one to put on extra ordinary show this time around.

“Those guys, the young guys, have been a real big part of our success throughout this tournament. Hopefully they can have a bit of success on Sunday night too,” Smith maintained.

In their maiden edition, Supergiant finished seventh in the group stage after claiming just five wins in 14 games in 2016.

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