Lundi Ngidi, the right-arm Chennai Super Kings fast bowler, has come out and stated that he never thought he'll be picked by one of Indian Premier League's most successful teams and it is the backing he has enjoyed from the team staff and his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni that has helped him immensely.
Ngidi ran through the Kings XI Punjab batting line up last night with his spell of 4-1-10-4 to help CSK restrict them for a mere 153. It paved the way for CSK's win by 5 wickets eventually.
Ngidi was quoted saying after the match that, “First of all it was the last thing I expected; I never thought I would get picked up in the auction, But the way the coaching staff and MS Dhoni have backed me has been really amazing"
"The experience here has been eye-opening, I have never played in front of such crowds but then again this is where the kind of stages (you find yourself in) you find out how good you are. It has been very good for me and I am looking forward to learning even more,”
Ngidi is happy to have played a rare game in India where he got the seam movement off the surface in Pune. He said, “Having seen (Deepak) Chahar bowl that first over I had seen a bit of bounce. He really swings the ball so I knew there was a bit of movement. When I bowled my first ball I actually saw that it was a very quick wicket and it is playing a lot in my favour,”
He further added, “I try to keep it simple as (much as) possible, try and pitch it on the fourth-stump line with it swinging away and swinging back in, let the batsman deal with that. It was a very good wicket for fast bowlers I would say, and it was very exciting to see Indian conditions offer such a fast-bowler friendly wicket,”
Ngidi was curiously asked about the move to send Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar ahead of MS Dhoni himself in the batting order. He replied, “To be honest I was not a part of that conversation. Watching them go out and bat at that time I was thinking probably (it was to) get the run-rate high, they (had) put us under a bit of pressure up front so to try (for about) five overs was fine,”
Looking forward to CSK's next match, which is the first qualifier against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Ngidi said, “Taking a win into the qualifiers puts the guys in a good place,”
