Dragons to meet Giants at home

The pitch at Natham had been the talk of the town after Australian Dean Jones, a part of the commentary team, compared it to an Australian wicket. The wicket was good and Baba Aparajith slammed an unbeaten ton on Thursday to guide his team to a big win against Karaikudi Kaalai. The Dragons skipper Subramania Siva said his team’s mainstay Ravichandran Ashwin has been in touch with the team and monitoring their training sessions. 

“He has been in touch with us for the last two weeks. He has been giving us strategies regarding how to go about our game and how to handle pressure. It will be a big plus for us when he is back and we are eagerly waiting for him to join us,” Siva said at the pre-match press conference. Talking about his team combination, Siva said his team is ready to take on the challenge and perform at its best when it matters. “We have been together for the past one and a half weeks. We have been practising very hard and the boys are keen to do well. We are looking forward for our first match and once it begins, we will be at the peak (of our game). T20 is all about one good performance either with bat or ball. We also have quite a few players who can step in when necessary,” Siva added. 

With M Ashwin available for Saturday’s match, Dragons have a player with an Indian Premier League experience to bank on. On the contrary, the Super Giants have had rigorous training sessions and the team’s vice-captain Shijit Chandran said they cannot wait for the match-day. “We have prepared very well for the tournament and under Bevan, we are executing our plans and ideas well. All players are fit and fine and the mood is great in the camp. We are the only team with a lot of district players and are looking forward for the match to start,” he said. Coach Michael Bevan emphasised the importance of his team getting used to the pitch at Natham as they play four matches at the scenic ground. “Our preparation has been good,” he said.