IPL 2019: Harbhajan Singh Opens Up His View On The Chennai Pitch

Mar 26, 2019 at 3:00 AM

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IPL 2019: Harbhajan Singh Opens Up His View On The Chennai Pitch

After Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secured a one-sided victory in the opening game of IPL 2019, the hero of the match Harbhajan Singh opened up about the Chennai track.

On Saturday night (23rd March), the defending champions CSK faced Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Chennai in the opening game of IPL 2019. After winning the toss, CSK captain MS Dhoni decided to field first.

Despite having the star-cast batting line-up, RCB was bundled out for just 70 runs (17.1 overs). Apart from the opener Parthiv Patel (29 runs), no other RCB batsmen reached the double-digit mark.

In reply, CSK chased down that target comfortably in 17.4 overs after losing three wickets. However, the CSK batsmen also struggled to score freely in that game.

After that match, the home captain MS Dhoni also revealed his unhappiness about the slow track.

However, the CSK off-spinner Harbhajan Singh defended that spin-bowling friendly wicket. The off-spinner won the Player of the Match award for his match-winning bowling performance. He had the bowling figures of 4-0-20-3.

Though he admitted that it was the difficult pitch for the batsmen, he didn’t feel any issue with this kind of pitch.

Harbhajan Singh said in the post-match press conference, “See, it was a difficult pitch to bat on but it wasn’t like it was unplayable. We’re so used to watching matches on good wickets where no one complains when people score 170-180. But if it spins or seams a little, everyone has a problem, saying why is this happening?

“No one has a problem with why so many runs are being made. So people actually forget that the bowler also has a job in cricket. Batsmen should struggle once in a while so that they understand that it should be a battle of bat and ball.”

It was not a 70 runs wicket

Harbhajan Singh, Chennai track
Image Credit: BCCI

Harbhajan Singh believes that it wasn’t the 70 runs pitch. The 38-year-old feels that a team could score at least 120 runs on this pitch by applying themselves correctly.

He added, “In some places, yes, they played some rash shots as well. It was not that this was a 70 runs wicket. You’ll get at least 120 if you apply yourself.”

We honestly didn’t expect it to turn so much as it did today

Harbhajan Singh also revealed that they didn’t expect so much turn from that wicket. They were also surprised by the behaviour of that pitch.

The off-spinner added, “It was a wicket where it was holding a bit. We honestly didn’t expect it to turn so much as it did today.”

Harbhajan Singh further said that they played a practice match here and that wicket was better than the latest one.

“We played a practice match here and the wicket was a good one. We would have preferred to play on a wicket that wouldn’t spin as much as this did. Hopefully it would be better hereafter.”

I am glad to contribute to the win

Harbhajan Singh, Chennai track
Harbhajan Singh (Image Credit: BCCI)

The CSK off-spinner is feeling glad for his impressive performances against the strong top-order batting line-up. Harbhajan Singh took the first three wickets of that innings by dismissing the skipper Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali and AB de Villiers.

He also pointed out that his old age was also carrying higher experiences in the field. The former Indian star spinner Harbhajan Singh has played 150 IPL matches and has picked up 137 wickets in IPL career.

Harbhajan Singh said, “It is nice to be on the winning side and contributing, especially taking the wickets of Virat (Kohli), AB (de Villiers) and Moeen (Ali)…top-order batters. This is the kind of performance that is expected from me, being the senior bowler in the side.

“Though people might think that I am old but the experience is something I have gained over the years, which no one can take away from me. I am glad to contribute to the win.”

CSK will play their second game of IPL 2019 on 26th March when they meet Delhi Capitals (DC) at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground (Delhi).

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