It’s a proud moment for any Head Coach to lead their side into the final, and more so in the inaugural season of something historic. But Robin Peterson, being the humble team man he is, was happy to stay in the background, as he attended the post-match press conference and answered a whole array of questions. Excerpts .. 

Reasons behind dropping Monank Patel for Slade van Staden

He might not have played a T20 game, but he has played a lot of age-group cricket at a level just below. He has played this format before on quite a few occasions. We just make our team selection based on what the team requires. It could be that for the final. We have to sit down and discuss. Monank was gracious. He is a great team man. You saw him running drinks and add value. 

On the grand comeback of Dewald Brevis

Brevis, probably, if you look at his history, his skillsets are tailor-made for batting at four in a T20 team. What we are seeing now is his development. The character is matching the talent as we saw in the last two games. He is only 20 years old, don’t forget that. Being exposed to high level cricket and creating reference points will go a long way for him, even in the IPL in the future. 

On Brevis’ gesture to the dugout after winning the game 

I didn’t see that gesture. DB is a team player. It had something to do with the teammates and the dugout. He started the tournament, then missed out, and came back through injury. You can see what it means for him to represent this franchise. 

Thoughts behind Nosthush Kenjige not bowling a single over

Just tactics and strategy. We didn’t think that Nosthush wasn’t going to bowl at all today, it’s just the way the game panned out. You have to give Nicholas Pooran a lot of credit. He has been very clinical and cool about what he was doing. He could have easily bowled Nosh because of how well he has bowled, but he discussed it with Nosh and they were on the same page. Tim didn’t bowl too bad a last over, so we’ll take that. 

On what clicked for MI NY in the last two games 

I don’t think anything has changed. We have kept things simple in the background. The guys set some goals at the start of the tournament, winning the tournament and getting to the final was one. They have created that environment behind the scenes. They are just one step away from the goal they have set for themselves. Hopefully things can come together and we can have a perfect game come Sunday. 

On the plans to stop Heinrich Klaasen in the final

He did win that game of cricket. Take nothing away from him, he is a fantastic player and has grown leaps and bounds in the last 12 months. When you run into an opponent who has something between his teeth, he doesn’t let you go if you don’t take your chances. That’s what he did to us. He didn’t give us a sniff when we dropped him. But Finals cricket is different altogether. Different pressures, it is a one-off, you make a mistake and you are out. We all treat it as such. Two good teams playing in the final at the end of the day. 

His coaching mantra and reasons for success 

Nothing out of the ordinary. I just be myself as a coach. I like to have chats with the players and make them believe in themselves. I like to make them feel comfortable in the environment that helps them perform to the best of their abilities. Firstly we have fantastic senior players. We have lost Pollard, Rabada, Behrendorff went home, and yet the group is still connected. Pollard, to his credit, wants to stay here with the boys till the end. The players make the environment, led by the seniors. It has been a fantastic team to be a part of to be honest. 

On whether things got tense in the dressing room during the chase 

I don’t think there was any tension. We said that we were only three shots away from winning the game and that’s exactly how it panned out. Tim David hit three sixes and broke the back of the chase. We were calm. We always trusted the six-hitting capacity of Tim David and Dewald Brevis who were at the crease. We always trusted that if they got a sniff, they would take it, and that’s exactly what happened.