By Anand Philar, IANS,
Chennai: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s left-arm seamer Sreenath Aravind, the third highest wicket-taker in the IPL this season with a tally of 21 wickets from 13 matches, expressed disappointment at the defeat in the final to the Chennai Super Kings and felt that he also contributed to the loss by not bowling well.
“I bowled on the wrong lines. It is a lesson for me. I have said it is a batsmen’s game, but one day the bowlers too will dominate. It is part and parcel of the game,” said the 27-year old who went for 39 runs in his three overs, but took two wickets.
“We could have won this match. I was dreaming to win. It is unfortunate but part of the game. It was dream come true for me to take lots of wickets.
“I was well supported by Zaheer Khan and Daniel Vettori and especially coach Venkatesh Prasad.”
While tacitly admitting that the absence of fast bowler Dirk Nannes (who was later replaced by Chris Gayle), Aravind felt that it provided opportunity for other players.
“Missing one player or some, it is part of the game. For that matter, we miss him, but it is a chance for youngsters to show their mettle and come up well in their career,” said Aravind, a relatively late bloomer on the domestic circuit having made his first class debut only three seasons ago.
However, Aravind has been a revelation in this year’s IPL and was a key member in the team that topped the league table and eventually finished runners-up.
“During the last two years, I have been improving a lot on each day by watching the seniors. I can say that in Karnataka, many people are helping me out in domestic circuit.
“Players like Robin (Uthappa), Vinay (Kumar), (Sunil) Joshi and my coach Sanath Kumar have been helping me a lot. This has helped me to build my confidence levels. I am looking forward to do better,” said Aravind.
Taking an overview of his own performance in the IPL, he said: “Every delivery is a learning lesson for me. I have learnt how to bowl to good and experienced batsmen in such a competitive field. Zaheer Khan had been telling me how to hit right areas and bringing variations,” he said.