Nehal Wadhera smashed his first Indian Premier League half-century while playing against Chennai Super Kings on May 6, Saturday. On a tricky pitch in Chennai, Wadhera helped his side in the first innings of the game hitting a fighting fifty as well.

However, Wadhera’s 64 off 51 balls helped MI post a respectable total of 139/8 but it was not good enough against Chennai Super Kings as they chased down the target in 17.4 overs. Wadhera spoke after the game and said that if Mumbai had not lost quick wickets, they would have been able to add 20-odd runs, which could have been game-changing at Chepauk as well.

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“We lost three early wickets early but it happens in cricket. Overall, we batted well today but I think we were about 15-20 runs short. I think if we had those runs the game might have been very different,” Wadhera said in the post-match press conference. “Today, it was difficult to hit the pacers because the ball was not coming onto the bat properly. Even with the new ball, Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande used slower ones well.”

However, Nehal Wadhera’s stumps were shattered in the 18th over of the match by none other than young and talented pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who is in sublime form. Wadhera again said that he would be better prepared for the Yorker specialist next time he faces him.

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“This was the first time I was facing him. He is not the type of bowler we face every day. But next time, whenever he comes, I would have better plans for him so that I can score more runs against him. It was my first game here in Chennai and also my first fifty in the IPL. I love batting under pressure. It was fun batting in Chennai but it was not an easy wicket to bat on,” Nehal Wadhera concluded.