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Katich says batting needs to improve
New South Wales Blues skipper Simon Katich was relived after his move to bowl Steve O'Keefe in the Super Over paid off in their Champions League T20 match, on Wednesday, but felt the batting needed to improve further.
"We're disappointed to have left it too late today," he said after his team's win over Trinidad and Tobago via the Super Over, in Chennai, on Wednesday, before adding that NSW also conceded too many runs in the middle overs."
"But that's the nature of Twenty 20 cricket. The pressure is on the bowlers, it's not easy for them as well. But we've got to come up with a better batting effort through that middle phase. If no one bats through (the innings) it's very difficult."
'The gamble to bowl O'Keefe paid off'
About going in with spinner Steve O'Keefe in the Super Over, he said, "I guess we felt pace off the ball with an older ball is probably the hardest thing to hit. I guess (T&T) went the other way and Moises played beautifully and got us back into the match when it looked like it was over. It was a fantastic knock and to cap it off in the Super Over was magnificent."
"O'Keefe had bowled beautifully for us and we just felt that the pace off the ball was the right option than one of the quicks. Yes, it can be looked at as a gamble but thankfully, it paid off," Katich said.
The left-hander also said that the fact that T&T picked his pacers for runs in the final five overs (they went from 89/3 to 139/6) also contributed in giving the ball to a spinner.
Hard work always pays off: Moises
Moises Henriques, who starred with the bat for NSW, said, "To be honest, I was just trying to enjoy the cricket. Nothing much was going through my mind. In my last game, we were in a similar situation. We work hard to bat in such situations and give your best every time you go out, sooner or later it's gonna pay off."
Henriques took a single and gave the strike to pace bowler Pat Cummins in the final over with just three balls remaining and eight runs needed for a win.
Asked if he had the confidence in the 18-year-old's ability, Henriques said, "I had just taken nine runs off Ravi (Rampaul) in the first three balls and the maths in my head said we needed eight off three balls and at that stage every run was crucial. If I could possibly get on strike on the last ball, then we were in with a chance, whether a six or four."