Mumbai, April 24 (IANS) Spinner Akeal Hosein credited clear communication and game awareness with teammate Noor Ahmad after the duo played a key role in Chennai Super Kings’s (CSK) dominant 103-run win over Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium.

Explaining their bowling approach, he said the focus was on sharing information from the pitch and help each other in proper execution.

“I’m just going to talk you through the match. From a bowling perspective, for myself taking the first ball, for me it was just about passing on what information I was getting from the surface, what deliveries were working, what lengths were working, and just passing that on to Noor,” Hosein said in a video released by IPL on X.

“So when he comes in, he’s got a clear plan on what he has to execute and how he’s going about his game. And, you know, thankfully we both work well in tandem and we had a fantastic spell tonight,” He added.

Hosein finished with great figures of 4-17 while his partner Noor also picked two crucial wickets as CSK bowl out MI for just 104 runs in 19 overs while chasing 208 and won the match by 103 runs.

Hosein also reserved praise for CSK’s batting performance, especially Sanju Samson, who scored a brilliant unbeaten century.

“Let’s not forget a brilliant knock by Sanju Samson. What a way to finish! And it was another fine innings. Faced the innings well. At stages, it was a bit tricky to bat on, especially when you now come in. But I thought that Sanju played a fantastic knock and facing the innings well and sort of keeping that anchor at the crease,” he said.

“And, you know, thankfully he got his 100 in the end as well. So good job to him,” he added.

Reflecting on the high-profile clash, Hosein said it was a special occasion and felt good to perform for the team against MI.

“It was a pleasure to be a part of such a big rivalry. Two teams with the most IPL trophies coming up against each other. And to have this sort of performance in Mumbai, it’s always a brilliant achievement. So for me, just happy to be a part of this rivalry and to come out on the winning side as well.”

The West Indies player further said that doing proper homework before the match and executing plans is the key to get wickets.

“It’s very challenging. The fact that you only have two guys out. But with that being said, I think once you do your homework well and you’re clear on your plans, as long as you go out there and execute, then you know it’s a 50-50 battle,” He concluded.

–IANS

sds/bc