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The focus is on containment: Murali

Special Correspondent

Chennai: Greatness was very much in the air when Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne interacted with the media on Friday.

Muralitharan Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker, said his focus on Twenty20 cricket was more on containment. “If you try to buy wickets, you could go for runs,” he said.

He was pleased with his economy rate of 6.97 in his 11 games so far in the IPL.

He, like Warne, stressed on fitness and experience rather than age in Twenty20 cricket.

Limited scope

He dwelt on the limitations for the spinners in this format, including the boundaries being shortened.

“It’s a format for the big hits, still the bowlers have 20 overs. They can win you matches,” he said.

Muralitharan, who, along with Makhaya Ntini, spent time with children from a local orphanage who cheered the Chennai Super Kings during practice session, said the team’s batting collapse against Royal Challengers Bangalore could happen to any side in a format such as this.

“But for two games, we have been the most consistent team with the bat,” he said.

Warne dwelt at length about young talent in India. He was all praise for two young leg-spinners, Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra, who have impressed in the IPL.

He emphasised on the importance of under-19 cricket and grooming talent.

Coaches, he said, were needed for junior and first class levels.

“At the international level, you do not require a coach,” he said.

Warne added, he was a captain first and then the coach of the Rajasthan Royals.

Home advantage

The leg-spinning legend, however, was not happy at Mumbai staging both the semifinals.

“Ideally, the top two teams in the league should have the right to have home semifinals,” he said.

Turning to his team, Warne said Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar and Siddarth Trivedi had the ability to represent India in all forms of the game.

He complimented Munaf Patel for his bowling in the competition.

Super Kings coach Kepler Wessles said there could be changes in the batting order for Saturday’s match. He also hinted at a change in the eleven.

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