Chennai, Jan 20: Hit by a bouncer early on Day 1, Rajasthan opener Aakash Chopra missed out on what would have been a hard-earned century in the Ranji Trophy final by just six runs. The veteran batsman spoke to the media about his 236-run opening stand with Vineet Saxena and another impressive season for Rajasthan.
Excerpts:
On missing out on a century
It happens. Honestly, at this stage of my career I would like to score as many centuries as possible. Eventually it’s just a number, and it doesn’t matter [whether you get] 95, 99 or 100. Personally it is very satisfying but if you look at the larger picture, you realise that it’s important to contribute for the team, towards the team’s success. 95 is as good as a 100 in my humble opinion because five runs more would have not taken my team into a better position. Personally, yes, it’s a bit disappointing to miss out on a century [but] I’m still happy that I have contributed to where our team is right now.
On opening partner Vineet Saxena
Vineet is fantastic. I think he has showed a lot of maturity. What a fantastic time to score his first double-hundred. I think he is only the second guy from Rajasthan after the late Mr. Hanumantsinghji who has scored a double-century in a final, [and the last one] was way back in ’67-’68, if I am not wrong. Obviously, it suits the occasion perfectly. I won’t say he’s been an unsung hero. We all know how important he is for the team and today he just came to the party like nobody else. We all are very happy for him because this is what it is all about: Rajasthan cricket is about Rajasthan cricketers, local talent. These guys have taken this team [forward]. In fact if you see the last season, [the] professionals were the highest run-getters in the season; this year it is the local guys. Though professionals have contributed these guys have been at the forefront. I am really happy for them.
On Tamil Nadu chasing a huge target
It won’t be easy. They have a good batting line-up but then chasing a total in a final on a Day 3/4/5 surface – however good, bad, ugly – I think it’s going to be tough. It’s not going to be easy because we will have runs on the board and they will have to do the chasing. Chasing is never easy. We would like to accelerate a bit tomorrow […] We would like to put up a good total and put pressure on the Tamil Nadu batsmen to go out there and win. If they bat and overhaul the total then that’s great and then they would be the worthy winners. But we fancy our chances pretty much [too]. We are still very much in the game. Two days, four hundred runs; we may have liked [a] few more on the board but we are not complaining because there is still a lot of cricket to be played on this surface […] Day 4/Day 5 will be tough to bat on.
On the total that they would like to post
We’re not thinking specifically in terms of numbers. We will assess after the first hour, hour-and-a-half tomorrow morning; around the first drinks break we will assess where we need to go. The next new ball is due […] The first over will be bowled with the third new ball. I think the ball will come on to the bat nicely or perhaps a bit better. We fancy our chances to accelerate a bit tomorrow […] We’ll post a decent total […] and get enough overs for Tamil Nadu to go out and bat.
On the possible outcomes of the final
[…] They have the batting to bat out 150-160 overs, if need be […] It could be a possibility but we are not foreseeing or predicting it. We are hoping that we will score runs and get them out and win this game on the basis of a first-innings lead. […]
On whether the team regrets not playing an additional spinner
Our strategy was to go into this game with our best four bowlers. Yes, we wanted to play spinners because we knew this track was going to assist spinners a lot more than fast bowlers but then our best chance of winning this game is by taking ten wickets […] Pankaj Singh is the highest wicket-taker for us; Rituraj [Singh] has been outstanding in the last three games. He played only three games [and] took 22 wickets. Sumit Mathur has been [a] warhorse of sorts; he’s been bowling quite well and been amongst the wickets and so has Gajender Singh. We have gone in with our best bowling combination. It may work, it may not work, but we do not regret it. Not yet.
