IPL 2013: Dwayne Smith hopes win over Bangalore will make Mumbai more consistent
He praised seamer Dhawal Kulkarni for picking up three wickets for just 19 runs and said his performance will give the team management a headache while picking up the next playing eleven.
Mumbai Indians opener Dwayne Smith, whose 36-ball 50 guided the home team to a huge win over the high-flying Royal Challengers Bangalore, said the triumph will inspire his team to be more consistent in the ongoing IPL.
"Any win in IPL should be a confidence booster... I am sure we will try to be as consistent as possible. It was a very good wicket. Good bounce and pace was very good. Happy with that and hope that it continues to be like that," Smith said after the 58-run win on Saturday.
Asked if Ambati Rayudu's controversial run-out fired up the team, the West Indian said, "We were already fired up. It is just that, that incident made us want to get up and show. It was a case of fair play but you can't do anything about it. They decided to go against it. Just have to move on from there."
The Barbados player provided a good start to his team with his knock which was his second half century in the three games he has played so far.
Asked if he has replaced Australian batting great Ricky Ponting, who dropped himself despite being captain of the side, Smith offered a straight bat.
"I don't know that. But it is for me to be consistent. At the end of the day, I have to turn up to play for a team. It is about getting the team into good position," he said. Karthik said Mumbai were scoring at a good pace and could have posted in excess of 200 before a mini-collapse did them in.
"When I was batting, I thought as long as I stay there, we could get a score of 190 to 200. But unfortunately I got out again. But guys like DK (Dinesh Karthik) really batted well and it was good to see (them get us) close to that score," he said.
He praised seamer Dhawal Kulkarni for picking up three wickets for just 19 runs and said his performance will give the team management a headache while picking up the next playing eleven.
"He is a very good player. He has improved a lot from the first IPL I saw him in. He gets to move the ball a lot, especially when I am batting in the nets. It is a little uncomfortable.
"But glad to see that he performed. I am sure there will give some headaches now, when it comes to picking up the next team," he said.