Thalaivan says his wicket led to a batting collapse

Thalaivan said his dismissal was the turning point. “My dismissal was crucial. Since we (seniors) have more experience at this level (than the younger players) it totally went out of control. It was a parscore and we could have chased it. The fact that we lost four wickets in a matter of 12 balls made the difference,” the batsman said. 

The 30-year-old batsman said restricting Tuti Patriots to 164 was a job well done by the bowlers. “Yes, 150 to 160 was a par score on this wicket. DK (Karthik) had a go and was playing well. The fact that we restricted them to this total on such a wicket was a good achievement by our bowlers,” he added. 

Thalaivan lauded rival-skipper Dinesh Karthik for a match-winning half-century. “Initially, we had some strategies for Dinesh Karthik but then he played superbly to take them to 160-odd. But, he also misread the wicket, I guess. His experience came to the fore as he accelerated superbly in the last three overs (47 runs). His ability to clear the rope made all the difference,” the Chepauk batsman said. 

He said the-order batsman need to contribute more as an area of improvement. “Our bowling was good. The fielding was also reasonable. The top-order batsmen need to put a prize on their wickets. We also have to take the positives along and improve,” he said. 

With Chepauk losing four wickets for one run, the batsman said the team should ensure they don’t repeat the mistakes. “These are very basic mistakes which should not be happening at any level of cricket. We have to ensure that an encore doesn’t happen in the next game,” Thalaivan signed off.