The Mandeep & Miller show; blockbuster at Mohali

Picture this. A 186 runs to win, the home side is three down for 58 with another 128 runs to get in close to 13 overs. At one end, you have a young 21-year-old Indian batsman, giving his every drop of sweat to try and take his side home; while on the other side you have a 23 year old South African walking out to bat in front of a packed house under testing circumstances. And what do they do, they stitch together a match winning partnership to get the whole stadium up on their feet. 

Mandeep Singh and David Miller might be young, but they showed how mature they were towards the approach of a mammoth run chase. A six off the second last ball from David Miller sealed the match for Kings XI Punjab as the team ran in jubilation to the centre of the pitch to greet their heroes with a sense of pride. The match winners were excited to talk about their thrilling win after their match to IPLT20.com. In this interview, Mandeep and Miller take us through the tension, the emotions and drama as the match went on till the last over. 

Miller, is this the most thrilling match you have been a part of in your career? 

Yes indeed. I have been a part of a few good games, but this one ranks right up there because the situations went up and down. Sometimes they were at advantage and sometimes we put them under pressure, so yes this has to go down as one of the most thrilling and exciting encounters I have been a part of.

Mandeep, was there a lot of pressure on you when you saw your captain get out in the first over?

It was tough to lose Adam Gilchrist in the first over. But the situation of the game was such that you had to play freely. When you are chasing a target of 180, you cannot block and take your time to get set, especially after you had lost two big wickets up front. I just had to play normal cricket.

What was the talk between you two during the run chase?

Miller: I said to Mandy, we just need to watch the ball well in the last over and really try our best. I wasn’t really thinking much to be honest, I had a few plans field wise, but other than that I just tried to clear the ball that came my way.

Mandeep: When David came in, we were just targeting one boundary an over. We had to run hard between the wickets since the boundaries were deep and it was difficult to get two or three boundaries in an over. The plan was to keep the board ticking at a good rate.

Did you both back yourself for a win when you needed 16 off the last over?

Miller: We did a really great job by taking the game to the last over. We were backing ourselves and went into the thought that, if we lost we had just lost a game of cricket. We had a chance of winning or losing and I am glad we came out winning at the end of it.

Mandeep:  I think our plan was set when we needed close to 38 runs in the last three overs and we had a talk at that time. We decided we needed three big hits in every over; and if we were successful in doing that, we will cross the line.

How do you handle pressure during big run chases? 

Miller: A cricket game is all about a little bit of pressure and handling that pressure, especially with a huge crowd and this (the IPL) being a high intensity tournament. But I have been through some pressure situations myself in the past, so it was fine.

Mandeep: I think it depends on the individual how he handles pressure. I have been playing the IPL for quite some time now and I am quite used to pressure now. But still, you have to overcome that pressure and try and make sure you come out winning. 

David, what do you have to say about young Mandeep’s knock?

It was an unbelievable knock by Mandeep. His innings was phenomenal. He has shown some great performances in the last year as well and even this year he has been good for the Kings XI. He is a star for the future. He has a good mind, wants to do well and I am really happy for him.

Mandeep, what is the biggest positive you take from this game?

I have been working on my game over the past three years. I have worked in a way that I prepare myself to bat till the end and take my side home when need be. Today, I was there till the end and am glad I was there to see the side home along with Miller.  

source: iplt20.com