IPL 2017: Rising Pune Supergiant were 'fortunate to get over the line' against Mumbai Indians, says Steve Smith

Pune: Rising Pune Supergiant captain Steven Smith has said that his team was “fortunate” to have won their first IPL match against Mumbai Indians in a last-over finish. “It’s a nice place to bat at Pune. Fortunate to get over the line in the end,” Smith said after he hit two consecutive sixes under pressure in the last over to overhaul the target of 185 and win by seven wickets here last night. “Form is form anywhere, I guess, so you got to make the most of it when you’re hitting the ball well,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_3372852” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Steve Smith’s 84 guided RPS to a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians. AFP[/caption] Rising Pune Supergiant eked out a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in a tense last-over finish. Smith, who remained not out on 84 off 54 balls, said he always knew that Mumbai would be giving one over to a spinner and they had to target him. “It was nice to hit a couple of sixes to win the game. It was one of those wickets where it was hard to find timing as soon as you come in,” said the Australian. Talking about his leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who took three wickets to restrict Mumbai to 184 for eight, Smith said, “Tahir was magnificent, probably called him on a little bit earlier than I would have liked to. Taking wickets through the middle overs was helpful and probably helped us in the end as well. Probably 180 was a par score on that wicket, pretty nice wicket with even bounce and slightly on the slower side.” Tahir, who initially went unsold at the IPL players auction, said he was happy to have contributed to the team’s success. “I was quite low when I went unsold in the auction, but life goes on. I came here to prove myself again and my job is to perform whenever given an opportunity. Really pleased with myself to have performed well on getting an opportunity and making the most of it,” said Tahir. Excited to play alongside former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Tahir said: “I have a lot of respect for Dhoni, not only because of what he has done for his country and himself but also because he is one of the nicest guys around. “I had a few conversations with him in the practice sessions, but I did not enjoy bowling to him since he hit me for a couple of sixes (laughs). He has been very helpful to me and his advise is something that I would keep taking,” said Tahir.