Management gives me a lot of confidence: Matheesha Pathirana

CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Matheesha Pathirana said on Saturday that the team management is giving him a lot of confidence and expressed happiness.

Top knocks from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway guided Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Chennai on Saturday.

Pathirana with his lethal bowling took three scalps by conceding just 15 runs in his four overs.

He was given the 'Player of the Match' award for his performance. In the post-match presentation, he said, "My journey with CSK started from last year, I came in as a replacement and played only two games, but this season I am playing more and I am happy. They (team management) give me a lot of confidence. This is my best bowling figure in T20 cricket and I am happy with the performance."

The Sri Lankan pacer revealed that he is a big Cristiano Ronaldo fan and his celebration after taking is a tribute to him.

"I am a die-hard fan of Cristiano Ronaldo (referring to his celebrations after picking a wicket)," Pathirana added.

Put to bat first by CSK, MI was off to a horrid start as their top order was laid to waste in just three overs. Cameron Green, who was opening in this match, lost his off-stump while attempting to pull.

Tushar Deshpande got his first wicket. MI was at 13/1 in 1.5 overs.

MI kept on losing wickets as after the end of the powerplay, they were 34/3.

Nehal Wadhera was the only player who stood up for MI, he scored his maiden half-century off 46 balls.

He scored 64 off 51 before getting out on Pathirana. He also had a half-century partnership with Suryakumar Yadav.

MI finished their innings at 139/8 in their 20 overs, with Piyush Chawla (2*) and Jofra Archer (3*). Tushar Deshpande also took 2/26 in his four overs.

Deepak Chahar also got 2/18 in his three overs while Ravindra Jadeja got one wicket.

CSK's innings got off to a brilliant start, with great knocks coming from Devon Conway (44 in 42 balls), Ruturaj Gaikwad (30 in 16 balls).

CSK finished off the run-chase successfully, finishing at 140/4 in 17.4 overs, with MS Dhoni (2*) and Shivam Dube (26*) unbeaten.

Piyush Chawla (2/25) was the pick of the bowlers for MI.

Brief Scores:

MI: 139/8 (Nehal Wadhera 64, Suryakumar Yadav 26, Matheesha Pathirana 3/15) lose to CSK: 140/4 in 17.4 overs (Devon Conway 44, Ruturaj Gaikwad 30, Piyush Chawla 2/25).