JAIPUR: Rajasthan Royals' pacer Shaun Tait was at his best on Tuesday against Delhi Daredevils. He hit the 150 kmph consistently, even bowling one to Aaron Finch, which was perhaps the fastest delivery ever recorded in India. Having retired recently from ODIs, Australian Tait is going all out in the fourth edition of the IPL. On Wednesday, he told TOI that it is not beyond him to hit the 160 kmph mark before the tournament ends. Excerpts:
Did you realise that you were bowling at over 150 kmph on Tuesday?
I knew I was bowling quite fast, but didn't know I was going at that speed. In fact, I was bowling well, at least in the first two overs. My body was responding well and it was a nice feeling.
Do you think you can touch the 160 kmph mark during this edition of the IPL?
If conditions suit me, it won't be impossible. It is quite a difficult task to bowl at 160. But I guess the best way is not worry about that but give of your best. That's what I am planning to do. Most wickets here in India are quite flat and you can go all out for pace. Hopefully, I can touch 160.
It's about two weeks after retiring from One-Day Internationals, do you think it was the right decision?
Very much. Now I can concentrate on T20 and I quite enjoy playing in this version of the game. It is not too taxing on my body. I can preserve my fitness and actually prolong my playing career. There are enough T20 matches happening around the world nowadays to keep me busy, so I don't really need to worry.
In T20, you just have to bowl 24 deliveries in a match. Does that help?
Oh yes. You can actually go out and give your 100 % without actually worrying about losing too much energy. Just four overs, that's it. In fact, that's what I did on Tuesday, went all out from the beginning.
In your second over to Aaron Finch on Tuesday, you consistently touched the 150 mark. Did you have a word with him after the game?
It was Aaron to whom I bowled the fastest one, wasn't it? He is a pretty good player. Couldn't have a word with him, but it was nice getting him out.
In the third over, you gave away too many runs...
Ya, David Warner took me for a few runs. He is another good batsman. Maybe I wasn't focusing much, but it was more of Warner getting the runs than me giving them to him.
Talking about 160 kmph, you bowled one last year. Weren't you on the verge of breaking Shoaib Akhtar's record?
I didn't know I was bowling that fast. It was only later that I realised that I had crossed the 160 mark. Was never really thinking about records. I was just bowling the way I am used to.
Would you ever consider compromising speed for control?
The idea is to bowl in the right areas and I have been doing that. Speed is nice to have and we have been training to get the balls just where we would be wanting.
What happened in 2008, when you had to take a break?
There were some physical issues and also mental ones. I wasn't enjoying the game. In fact, at that time I just hated cricket. I wanted to go away. Just wasn't focused and it was a difficult time.
How did you come out of it?
The break helped. Staying away from the game was a great thing at that time. Then T20 came along and I started enjoying them. In fact T20 was just the perfect thing for me. I regained my energy and was back in the game.
toi
Did you realise that you were bowling at over 150 kmph on Tuesday?
I knew I was bowling quite fast, but didn't know I was going at that speed. In fact, I was bowling well, at least in the first two overs. My body was responding well and it was a nice feeling.
Do you think you can touch the 160 kmph mark during this edition of the IPL?
If conditions suit me, it won't be impossible. It is quite a difficult task to bowl at 160. But I guess the best way is not worry about that but give of your best. That's what I am planning to do. Most wickets here in India are quite flat and you can go all out for pace. Hopefully, I can touch 160.
It's about two weeks after retiring from One-Day Internationals, do you think it was the right decision?
Very much. Now I can concentrate on T20 and I quite enjoy playing in this version of the game. It is not too taxing on my body. I can preserve my fitness and actually prolong my playing career. There are enough T20 matches happening around the world nowadays to keep me busy, so I don't really need to worry.
In T20, you just have to bowl 24 deliveries in a match. Does that help?
Oh yes. You can actually go out and give your 100 % without actually worrying about losing too much energy. Just four overs, that's it. In fact, that's what I did on Tuesday, went all out from the beginning.
In your second over to Aaron Finch on Tuesday, you consistently touched the 150 mark. Did you have a word with him after the game?
It was Aaron to whom I bowled the fastest one, wasn't it? He is a pretty good player. Couldn't have a word with him, but it was nice getting him out.
In the third over, you gave away too many runs...
Ya, David Warner took me for a few runs. He is another good batsman. Maybe I wasn't focusing much, but it was more of Warner getting the runs than me giving them to him.
Talking about 160 kmph, you bowled one last year. Weren't you on the verge of breaking Shoaib Akhtar's record?
I didn't know I was bowling that fast. It was only later that I realised that I had crossed the 160 mark. Was never really thinking about records. I was just bowling the way I am used to.
Would you ever consider compromising speed for control?
The idea is to bowl in the right areas and I have been doing that. Speed is nice to have and we have been training to get the balls just where we would be wanting.
What happened in 2008, when you had to take a break?
There were some physical issues and also mental ones. I wasn't enjoying the game. In fact, at that time I just hated cricket. I wanted to go away. Just wasn't focused and it was a difficult time.
How did you come out of it?
The break helped. Staying away from the game was a great thing at that time. Then T20 came along and I started enjoying them. In fact T20 was just the perfect thing for me. I regained my energy and was back in the game.
toi
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