Pune ended MI's six-match winning streak with a three-run win.
Steve Smith (L), Ben Stokes (C) celebrate a dismissal (Photo: AFP)
Rising Pune Supergiant skipper Steve Smith lavished praise on Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat for keeping their cool and bowling the team to a close win over Mumbai Indians here on Monday.
Pune ended MI's six-match winning streak with a three-run win.
“I thought we scrapped really well in the end. Stoksy in the second half was excellent, Unadkat got us over the line,” Smith said at the presentation ceremony.
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“The dew was not too bad. We thought it would be worse, we held together, and the wicket played the same for the 40 overs. It was not a traditional Wankhede wicket.
“160 was probably around par, and tonight we were able to take wickets in the middle and keep the pressure on. Unadkat went wide of the crease and bowled a hard length.”
MI captain Rohit Sharma cracked his second half century of the IPL season but could not prevent his team fromsuffering a nail-biting defeat at the Wankhede Stadium.
“It is disappointing after being so close. I thought we tried our best, gave everything we could, but it was disappointing not to finish the game. I don't want to be too critical of our performance,” Sharma said.
He added, “We lost wickets in the middle, and that was the mistake on the part of us. Overall, it was a great game. The pitch was a little dry and was assisting the spinners. Our spinners did the job pretty well, you need to understand the pace you have to bowl at the Wankhede.
“We have been playing good cricket. We have to forget what happened tonight and move on. It was good to get some runs, but disappointing not to finish the match.”
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