It is just the beginning of the IPL, and the tournament has already witnessed two sensational games. By the courtesy of spellbinding knock from Rising Pune Supergiant skipper Steven Smith, the hosts got home in the nick of time at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
Smith continued from where he left off in the Test, as he was extremely calculative in his approach in the run-chase and applied himself to perfection.
Earlier in the steep chase of 185, Pune found an early star in the form of Ajinkya Rahane, as the elegant opener put forward a show of absolute masterclass.
Rahane’s fireworks at the top were pleasing to the eyes and at the same time, provided his team to the ideal start which was needed, considering the tricky target.
Smith was named as the Man-of-the-Match for his fine knock and he admitted his love for batting at Pune.
“It’s a nice place to bat, Pune. Fortunate to get over the line in the end. We always knew they would have to get an over in from a spinner or Pollard and we had to target them It was nice to hit a couple of sixes to hit the game.”
“It was one of those wickets where it was hard to find timing as soon as you come in. Form is form anywhere, I guess, so you got to make the most of it when you’re hitting the ball well. Imran Tahir was magnificent, probably called him on a little bit earlier than I would have liked to,” said Smith.
“Taking wickets through the middle overs was helpful and probably helped us in the end as well. Probably 180 was a par score on that wicket, pretty nice wicket with even bounce and slightly on the slower side,” he concluded.
Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, was all in awe of his counterpart as he lauded Smith for a stellar knock.
“Smith batted really well and he continued from where he left. We had to get him out early. It is the first game and we have to learn from this. Both McClenaghan and Johnson bring similar things to the table but McClenaghan has done well for us in the last couple of years.”
Hinting that Mitchell Johnson could play a significant role, later on, Rohit added,
”Johnson is also bowling well and we will bring him in some time later in the tournament. First game for Mahela and not a great start. But we have a great squad and we will bounce back.”