Internet Desk: Praveen Kumar does keep it very simple. The Gujarat Lions medium pacer is a firm believer of not trying too many things with the ball. It was his disciplined bowling on Sunday that rattled the Kolkata Knight Riders top order at the start of the innings. He returned with figures of 2/19 as Lions restricted a strong KKR batting line up for 158/4, a target they chased down with two overs to spare with five wickets in hand.
Praveen is grateful to Suresh Raina for reposing faith in him. Giving the team the credit for having full faith on him, he said: “My team has full faith in me, Raina trusts me. Getting wickets is really not in your hands. One day you can get hit and the next day you may get four wickets also and win the match in this format. You always want to do well. But this format is very unpredictable.”
Lions were pleasantly surprised to see a seaming track on offer at the Edens Gardens and made full use of the conditions to set up a five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match, said veteran seamer Praveen Kumar.
“We were surprised to see this wicket. We were expecting a rank-turner. There was a bit of juice in the wicket initially, with a bit of grass that made some difference. We bowled in the right areas and got early breakthroughs so it helped us. It was a double-pace wicket,” Praveen Kumar said.
Asked whether he’s eyeing an India comeback like another veteran Ashish Nehra, he said, “I follow a simple principle, I just focus on my performance, work hard and win the match for your team. That’s my job. I don’t think what others saying or doing.”
Aaron Finch once again batted lower the order and Praveen said, “It’s a strategy to play him in the middle. It’s about being flexible.