Interview 05 Oct 14 12:10am IST Anand Subramaniam in Bengaluru Dhoni gave me confidence: Negi 21-year old spinner credits captain and team for his five-for It is a moment that young Pawan Negi will remember for a long time. After all, a five-for in a CLT20 final against one of the best sides in the competition is no mean feat. On a night that was meant to be a run feast and a horror for the bowlers, Negi ended up with figures of 5 for 22 in his four overs. Run machine-Robin Uthappa, Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey were among his scalps. Success to Negi hasn’t come easy. In a star-studded lineup, Negi has found it tough to make his way into the Chennai Super Kings playing eleven. Negi though was determined to make the most of the opportunities and be prepared whenever his captain gave him a nod. That he did, and his effort along with a Suresh Raina blinder, ended Chennai Super King’s title drought as they defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the Oppo CLT20 2014. A proud moment for Negi, and the youngster was more than willing to share his thoughts with clt20 on his performance, crediting his captain for his performance with the ball. Excerpts from the interview How does it feel to be a part of a maiden title victory? It is an outstanding feeling and I am really feeling happy to be a part of a big franchise like the Chennai Super Kings. I am really honoured to get a chance in the playing eleven and am glad I put up a good show. As a youngster there is pressure to perform in the presence of senior players who play for India. But it is an enjoyable experience to perform and end up on the winning side. Did you receive a warm applause once you walked back to the dressing room after your fifer? The dressing room was really happy with my effort and everyone celebrated with me. It was a really good feeling to be a part of it. How eager were you to put up a good show as and when you got your chances? I always had the desire to play more matches for the side. I got some games in the IPL and then got a break in the CLT20. I always wanted to make the most of the opportunities I get and contribute to the team’s success. The dressing room atmosphere has always been good right since the IPL. The captain and the supporting staff played a huge role when it came to supporting the young guys in the team. It was great fun. How much confidence do you get when MS Dhoni tosses the ball to you? MS Dhoni had a lot of confidence in me and the other spinners because the wicket was turning. He asked me to be slower through the air so that I can get a lot of zip and turn from the wicket. I knew if I bowled flatter I would be hit for runs since it is a small ground. I was trying my best to slow up things and get as much turn I could from the ball. My strategy was to bowl at the right areas according to the plan. The wicket was supportive to my kind of bowling and I was trying to hit the right lines and lengths. You have experienced spinners like R Ashwin in the side. What kind of conversations do you have with him on your bowling? I always ask a lot of things to my other teammates and spinners about bowling and getting better. There are a bunch of guys who have truckloads of experience and I always ask them little things about my bowling. They have been kind enough to share a few things with me which has helped me perform during the matches. How much of hard work has gone into this performance? I had a lot of sessions with our video analyst. There were a lot of times when I would go to his room and look at videos of players in the night and think about plans to get them out. Right from the openers to the end, I had a look at all the videos of the KKR batsmen and got to know about their strong and weak points against spin bowling. I tried my best to execute those plans tonight and I am glad that it worked.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 05:29:29 +0000
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