Ranjane, Ferreira and spinners bring TSK back to winning ways
LAKR hardly got going in the chase, as Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad shared four wickets
LAKR hardly got going in the chase, as Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad shared four wickets
Scorer: Thilak R | Commentator: Rashad Mahbub
That concludes today's MLC action from us. Stay tuned to ESPNcricinfo, as Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat in the second Test against Sri Lanka. And please join us again tomorrow for more MLC action. Until then, this is Rashad Mahbub signing off for Thilak Ramamurthy. Goodbye and goodnight.
Texas Super Kings captain, Faf du Plessis: "[You didn't win the toss] You got some tips? I tried everything. I can claim that I call on the future South Africa Test Captain to just come and toss [laughter]. So, look out for the next Texas Captain coming from the top. [Par score] I felt this wicket wasn't the same as the first couple of games we played on it. It was a little bit slow, a little bit lower, so we were thinking 180 was probably a good score. But that's the nature of it if you've got some power at the back end. So well done to the two boys at the back of the way that they played. The game has moved quickly, and obviously, this field I feel is a really good pitch, as you've seen over the two previous games that we played here. Previous game batted really well, getting 220, and you feel like you've squeezed every run possible out there. So when I say not so good, I just mean the wickets that we've played on here. 180 is still a very good score, but just the nature of this pitch, and the way that the ball has traveled, is quite small on the one side. So you feel like 200 is a par score. I think that the pleasing thing for us this year's performance is that the local boys have really come to the party. And I felt last year we lacked a bit of that. We feel like there are options. So I feel, from a batting perspective, we feel definitely confident in the guys to come in and put some runs on the total, because you want to try and pick your best 11 on this pitch. Akeal Hosein today was magic to see him operate in the Powerplay and do what he does. It was pleasing to get wickets in that first six. [First win at home] Obviously, we started off the tournament really well, and even, like I said in the previous game, I thought we were very good, maybe apart from one or two drop catches. So we weren't far off the previous game. But obviously, it only counts when you win. So today, pleased that we could put it together and put on a big performance to win by that many runs."
Most Valuable Player, Donovan Ferreira: "The wicket obviously didn't look as good as the previous day. It looked a bit slower, so we knew that we had to bat deep and try and maximize the last five overs. So play a bit of good cricket shots, keep it on the ground to start, and then try, if you get the pace of the wicket, try and take on if you feel with the wind, you can take it on. [While batting] It was a bit slower. It just felt like everything clicked for me today. I had the pace of the wicket. But I gave myself an opportunity, faced 10 balls before I started going. Fortunately, hit a couple of boundaries early on. So, and then when this clicked, I hit a couple of sixes. [Best six] That one of Shadley was nice. Everything just was in sync. And when it hit the bat, I was like, oh, that's big! [South African connection] Just because it went the furthest [laughter]. That's like the perfect length, perfect swing and it just hit the middle of the bat so it felt really good."
Los Angeles Knight Riders captain, Jason Holder: "[Set up the run chase] I don't think it was anything different from what we've been asking the entire season. We just lost two early wickets in the Powerplay. We never got going in the Powerplay it was hard to just get that momentum going into the middle stage. And we never had enough. We had too much to get in the back end. Look, we just got to be a little bit smarter. A few things haven't gone our way as well, too. We just need a little momentum at the top. We just need to get something going to the top. Try to strike a partnership and give ourselves a little bit more in the middle. [Bowling] Yeah definitely thought we were poor in the back end as well as today. We just need to execute better, I think it's one of those cases where we just got to be a little bit more clear, a little bit more decisive."
10:50 pm Right from the start of this chase, the Knight Riders never looked comfortable. Their top-order batting struggles, unfortunately, continued today. Things got even tougher when Akeal Hosein struck twice in a row, dismissing both Hales and Nikhil, who have been quite out of form lately. The Super Kings' bowlers were just fantastic in the Powerplay, keeping things incredibly disciplined and tight. That meant the required run rate just kept climbing, putting the Knight Riders' batters under constant pressure. It really wasn't their day with the bat; they just couldn't time the ball well at all throughout their innings. After that initial collapse, the pressure simply kept on building, and the batters just couldn't change the tempo of the game. Perhaps the Knight Riders' management needs to tweak their batting lineup. It feels like they're wasting Sunil Narine's potential with the bat by keeping him so far down the order. Akeal and Noor both picked up two wickets each, being the standout bowlers from the Super Kings camp.
Texas Super Kings won by 52 runs
Stoinis to bowl the last over
LAKR hardly got going in the chase, as Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad shared four wickets