Phil Salt was in awe of RCB captain Rajat Patidar and said that the MP batter is brilliant in all areas of his game and has a good cricket brain. Patidar's fifty and his captaincy helped RCB secure a famous win at Chepauk on Friday, March 28.
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00:00When you come to Chennai you normally expect something on the slower side and I think that's
00:24actually what we ended up getting. As the game went on it got a little bit more too
00:29paced and a little bit harder to go across. It spun a little bit but not as much as maybe
00:36wickets will later in the tournament here so it's good to come here and come away with
00:41a win.
00:42And Rajat has also shuffled his ball as well. He kept the pressure till the end. How about
00:48the cap and see?
00:49Yeah, brilliant cap and see. Obviously to take the initiative early with the new ball,
00:55that's one thing. But then to not take the foot off the gas and really drive at home.
01:00I don't think there was any period of that game where we let up from keeping the pressure
01:04on them. So you've got to tip your hat to the bowlers and to Rajat for flipping around
01:09like that as you said.
01:10Next question please.
01:11Phil, congrats on the win. Just on your partnership with Kohli and today, one of those days that
01:12he did not really get going at the front. What are the conversations you're having
01:13with him and is that something that you're looking forward to?
01:14Yeah, definitely. That's definitely part of it. I think it's been made very clear to
01:38me why I'm here at RCB and what they were looking for in the auction to partner with
01:43Virat. So the dynamics of the partnership I'm very aware of and it's to be aggressive
01:50and to take the pressure off the rest of the guys, especially when you come somewhere like
01:55here. If you don't take advantage of those early seamovers, then you can be left up against
02:01it when the spin comes on and they can really take control of the game. So it was very key
02:05here and that was spoken about, yeah.
02:09Can we have? Yes, sir.
02:10Phil, you're new to this set-up but how do you see Rajat Pakhita's consistency and the
02:17way he handles his resources and his backing? He comes, he takes down in the middle, so
02:23what is your take on Rajat Pakhita and his game and tactics?
02:28I think he's brilliant in all areas, if I'm being honest with you. I think the batting
02:35is right up there with the best around. I've not seen anybody hit spin the way that he
02:40can. Obviously, he rode his luck a little bit tonight, but that's the game, you get
02:45that in patches. I've not seen anyone hit the ball like him off spinners and especially
02:50some of those slower balls that he hit for six, it was unbelievable. And then you come
02:55to his captaincy and he's a cool head, he's very calm under pressure. He's got very good
03:01cricket reign, he thinks about the game very deeply. And as I've already said, the way
03:06that he spun the bowlers around tonight to make sure that we were keeping pressure on
03:09them at all times, there's not much more you can ask for. And there's a reason he's got
03:15a Man of the Match trophy as well.
03:17Yes, sir.
03:18Phil, a little bit about your decision to play in a game against New England. Is there
03:23still a novelty factor against left-armer, not without spoilers, obviously faced with
03:29Is it still a little tricky to keep them off the wicket or off the hand?
03:34It varies, I'd say. A lot of it depends on who the bowler is. I think Noor's a little
03:43trickier than most left-armers, I'd say. But you're very aware that his googly is his danger
03:49ball, that's the one that's going to go across you. You've got a couple of leggies to spin
03:54tonight, but I think you've got to have a good game plan to these guys. Mine was to
04:00be across my stumps and to try and nullify the leg spinner and then hope I get more googlies.
04:06Everybody's got different ways of going about it and I think picking the ball out of the
04:12hand is just one of those things that happens with time. I've played a fair bit of cricket
04:16with him, so I know his variations, but if there are some guys that are playing against
04:21him for the first or second time, it's going to be trickier.
04:28Tim was saying to the commentary team that in the morning there was a discussion that
04:32we won in 2008 and last time in Chepauk. Was there any kind of discussion? You can just
04:37put some light on that, RCD beating CSK in Chepauk last time in 2008 and what was the
04:44discussion and how big do you think it is beating them and the heaviest defeat in Chepauk
04:50with CSK?
04:51Yeah, it was actually at breakfast. Some sort of an article came up on my phone and it was
04:57all the things that have happened since RCB beat CSK here. Pretty light-hearted conversation,
05:03there wasn't too much in it, but yeah, it's a good win. I think if you take it back to
05:12us as a unit right now, to win the first two games of the tournament is always where you
05:18want to be, but to beat the champions in their home ground and then come here, which is a
05:22very, very tough place to come and get a win. We're really happy with the fact that we're
05:29sitting two games, four points, obviously with a boost in the net run rate as well,
05:34but we're very aware of how good a side CSK are, especially at home, so we're pleased.