"I sort of watch him from a distance and think I don't really want to face that" - Devon Conway on Matheesha Pathirana
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opening batter Devon Conway has praised young pacer Matheesa Pathirana for his performance in the team's tense win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday, April 17.
The Sri Lankan pacer replaced the injured Sisanda Magala in the playing XI and was tasked with bowling the crucial 18th and 20th overs of the second innings. Pathirana conceded only four runs in the 18th over and managed to keep his cool in the final over as well, conceding 10 runs and giving CSK an eight-run win.
The unorthodox pacer was able to execute the yorker under pressure and ended up with figures of 2-42 in his four overs.
Conway admitted during the post-match press conference that he has not faced his teammate in the nets so far, and that he is not keen on doing so either.
"Special effort by Matheesha to get into the team, first game this year for him in the IPL, and execute under pressure like that was brilliant," he said. "He is very unorthodox and I personally have not faced a ball of him, I have not faced him in the nets. I sort of watch him from a distance and think I don't really want to face that."
The young pacer claimed the wickets of Shahbaz Ahmed and Suyash Prabhudessai in the death overs while managing to contain Wayne Parnell as well to an extent. Revealing that he had a conversation with Parnell at the end of the contest over the prospect of facing Pathirana, Conway said:
"I had a chat with Parnell after the game and I sympathized for him because having to try to face the first ball from an action like that can be testing. It was very crucial for us to have him execute his plans that ultimately got us the win."
Pathirana had to defend 19 runs in the final over. Barring a six off the third ball, which came off an unorthodox shot by Prabhudessai, the right-arm pacer was in total control of proceedings.
"For us to get those big totals, it is about trying to create a strike rate of 200 plus" - Devon Conway
The M. Chinnswamy Stadium has seen big runs being scored in all four matches played at the venue so far. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) managed to chase down 213 runs not too long ago, which makes posting a competitive first-innings total tricky at the venue.
CSK went one step further and amassed 226 on the board, led by Conway's 45-ball 83-run knock. While the opening batter finished with a strike rate of 184.44, the middle order stepped up with some explosive cameos to get the cushion of the extra runs.
Conway noted that while playing on such batting-friendly tracks, the aim is to attain a strike rate of around 200.
"Tonight was a very good surface to bat on, so for us to get those big totals, it is about trying to create a strike rate of 200 plus," he said. "I was not able to do that, but some of the work done by other players like Ajinkya, Shivam, and Rayudu, the guys chipped in with really good strike rates and that is what got us to a very competitive total and that is probably the method on a wicket like this."
CSK are next scheduled to face the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, April 21.