Greater Noida: Cheteshwar Pujara’s satisfaction with his preparation, Yuvraj Singh’s surprise at his fast bowlers inability to swing the pink ball and a snubbed Gautam Gambhir’s yearning for a Ranji Trophy triumph were some of sentiments expressed after the Duleep Trophy final which was played here.
It was a good preparation for the New Zealand series and I’m looking forward to it. I like to compete and there is always a price on my wicket. I always feel when I’m set, I have to score big runs and help the team,” Pujara, who had scored of 166 and 256 not out in two Duleep matches said. I enjoyed playing the pink ball, but there are challenges, especially under lights when it is hard to pick the googly. I’ve been playing a lot of cricket since childhood and I have always enjoyed scoring big runs, right from the junior days, and now it has become a habit.”
It’s a bit tough to comment (on the pink ball) because when we were bowling, the ball wasn’t swinging much, whereas when they bowled, it was swinging. It’s still a mystery. Since we lost the toss and we didn’t bowl well. We missed stumpings, dropped catches. I hope to get better. The batsmen – Gambhir and Pujara – piled on the runs. Staying for long periods on the field can be tiring. Jadeja bowled well and Pankaj bowled well with the new ball.”
Looking forward to win it (Ranji). It’s been a while since Delhi has won it. Toss is not in your hands, but I won it, fortunately. Putting 700 runs on the board was crucial. I think I have always felt that’s the way the game is meant to be played. I have seen captains say in the past that the Duleep Trophy is about individuals. The first day when I came in, I thought the most important thing was to get the unit together and inculcate the culture of winning in the dressing room. There is no better feeling than to lead the team to a win. The most important culture is winning. It’s always about winning and not about individual performances. There is no better feeling than winning and getting into a dressing room, because a winning dressing room is a happy dressing room. I thought when you win the toss and someone gets a 250, it’s fantastic, hopefully, he (Pujara) can carry this form into international cricket.”