Michael Hussey is a man of many virtues. But one adjective that describes him the best is ‘committed’. Taking on the mantle of opening Chennai Super Kings’ batting in Pepsi IPL 2015 from Brendon McCullum, Hussey played an innings filled with sublimity, serenity and substance to take CSK through to the final in Kolkata.

His 56 off 46 balls was the reason CSK could chase down Royal Challengers Bangalore’s tricky target of 140 on a difficult Ranchi pitch in Qualifier 2. With the team in grave danger at 61 for 3 in the 10th over, it was Hussey and MS Dhoni who joined hands to keep the boat from sinking. In the end, the patience and the hard yards paid off as CSK beat RCB by three wickets to make their sixth IPL final.

Before coming to CSK’s rescue with the bat, Mr. Cricket had already presented all with a display of sheer commitment in the field with his stunning forward-diving catch at deep backward square-leg to get rid of the in-form Mandeep Singh.

In a chat with iplt20.com Hussey spoke about how he and Dhoni orchestrated CSK’s chase and described the catch as it happened.

Mr. Cricket is back to where he belongs?

It is very satisfying to contribute in such an important game. And it is even more amazing to get to yet another final. The history of this team has been really phenomenal but it will be really nice to finish it off on Sunday.

The stage was for perfectly set for an innings of substance from you today.

It was difficult out there, no question about it. We needed someone to bat through the overs and take the team as close as possible. MS (Dhoni) and I were telling each other, ‘We are finding it difficult and it is going to be twice as difficult for the new batsman coming in. So we should just try to stay in and take it as deep as we can’. Unfortunately we both didn’t make it till the end but we took it pretty close.

How did you and MS decide to go about the target – did you break it down over-wise?

It was just about making sure we built a partnership and try to be really busy. It was a difficult wicket to hit on; we had to run really hard between the wickets, constantly look for ones and twos and get the odd boundary away. It wasn’t a big total to chase, so we knew if we just kept the positive intent going and take it close, a couple of big ones in the end would get us home.

You told me before the IPL that you want MS’s batting power. Today the big shots were coming from you during your partnership.

Well, I didn’t finish it. I wanted to be there till the end but we still needed about 30-odd runs when I got out. As for me being more aggressive than MS, as I said, it was difficult for a new batsman to come in and start hitting. After he had invested 20-odd balls in the middle he knew what was going on.

You will turn 40 in a few days. But that catch you took will put 25-year-olds to shame. What went on your mind when you saw the ball coming at you?

You don’t have much time to think, really. I didn’t know if it would carry, so I just thought I will try and get there and get my body behind the ball. Thankfully it carried deeper than I thought it would. It was a crucial wicket. Mandeep is an important player and he has been batting really well. So, I was really thankful that it stuck.

This ground is as good as home ground for CSK – the conditions, the pitch and the support?

We get great support here. It is MS’s home and for us it is home away from home. It is a wonderful stadium – it is amazing to have a stadium like this in a city like Ranchi. I have actually played here a few times and I have really enjoyed the experience. It is a fantastic place to play.

How hurt was the team after the loss in Mumbai (Qualifier 1) and what was said after the game?

We were really disappointed, no question about that. It was a great opportunity to go straight to the final. The most important thing for us was to not dwell on it too much. We had to pick ourselves up really quickly and come here with a really positive mindset without carrying any baggage from that loss. It wasn’t easy – I certainly was grumpy. But it was important to stay positive and tight as a team.

Sixth IPL final for CSK – ready to take down your former team?

I hope so. I really do. It is going to be a great match. I am hoping it sort of works out like 2013 where we beat Mumbai Indians in the first Qualifier to go straight to the final and then lost to them in the final. This time we lost to them in the qualifier and hopefully can turn the tables on them in the final. They are a great team and have been playing some really good cricket. So we are going to have to be at our best. We have to look to just start the game well and hopefully our confidence will grow from there.