A three-run loss, especially from where MI New York were in the game, is always a tough one to swallow. But games come thick and fast in the Cognizant MLC, and we cannot wait to bounce back in a couple of days. Trent Boult is someone who’s won titles with all four teams in the MI family, and he knows what it takes to get on a winning role from here. Here he is, speaking at the post-match press conference. Excerpts.. 

Thoughts on the pitch and the ground

The pitch is rock solid. The drop in wickets are generally good wickets. With the way everything works, they need to put one beside the other, in my opinion, they both look like good wickets. But the pitch aside, the whole product, spectacle there is amazing. It is great to see some good crowds. To play in a stadium with different angles, different sizes, is very unique and exciting. 

On MINY suffering back-to-back run-outs 

Definitely played a big part in the result. I’m not going to sit here and tell the batters how to bat, but they knew the target was never out of reach. One or two good overs and you are back in the game. I thought we got the game right back in our favour. Couple of decisions made by a few players, that’s the margin in this game. We still want to keep it positive. It’s a long tournament. It’s an exciting leg and it is going to be a busy next six days. We’re going to be better off with this experience. 

On Monank Patel’s superb knock of 62

Prime example of taking time at the start. He played fantastically to get the ball back in our court. It could have been easy to panic in that situation and try and play a big shot. I have played with him for three years and he is a talented player. I thought he played fantastically tonight. 

Positives to take from this game

There’s always positives. To have to head out and get a feel of how guys like to field, how they like to bat, how they like to bowl under pressure, there are positive opportunities to grow as a team. You learn a lot more from losing. We’ll take away some good things, have a quick turnaround and be back here in a day or two. 

On the growth of the MLC over the last three seasons

I think the tournament is growing considerably. I was here in the first here when it was played between two venues. Similar venues last year. There’s a lot of history in these stadiums. To get out there and experience it (is special). It’s a long way up to the top there. Eden Park in New Zealand, probably similar sizes. I’ve been playing cricket for 18 years professionally, but still learning and working out things. Even I was unsure where the ball was going to go.