When Mitchell McClenaghan landed in Mumbai for his first Pepsi IPL, he was unsure of what to expect. Of course, he had watched the tournament and perhaps, heard about it from his fellow Kiwi cricketers. But nothing beats the first-hand experience.

At the end of the six-week grind, there he stood, soaked in sweat at the sweltering Eden Gardens, as an IPL winner. Now, the left-arm pacer from New Zealand is also a proud Mumbai Indian. And the journey has taken his breath away.

McClenaghan played an extremely crucial role in MI’s resurgence and eventually in their triumph with 18 wickets in the 12 games he played. One last super performance was set aside for the grand finale. As MI routed the Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs, McClenaghan’s contribution was 3 for 25.

Revelling in the victory, the speedster spoke to iplt20.com about his maiden IPL journey.Not a bad first IPL to be part of, is it?Oh, what a journey! We got off to a rocky start and the way the guys showed character to fight back was amazing.

And to have won the trophy eventually is simply phenomenal.What triggered this amazing turnaround?Just being positive. We always had the talent.

It was just ensuring that the guys believed in each other and realise that they were playing for the mate next to them and not just themselves. That’s what triggered the turnaround – we started playing for each other and put our bodies on line for each other.Was it overwhelming for you at times, given this was your first IPL?I am not going to lie to you, it does get overwhelming at times.

You have just got to enjoy it, soak it up and keep telling yourself how lucky you are to be playing this game of cricket in front of 70,000 people. For me it was an incredible opportunity to play with this great bunch of guys. Just to come out here, be part of a tournament like this and have the opportunity to show what I can do has been very enjoyable.

You are aggressive by nature. Did this long stay in India calm you down a bit?(Laughs). When I get picked up in a team, I am always aggressive.

That is just the way I play and I am not going to take a backward step. Full credit to Ricky (Ponting) and the coaching staff for giving me the confidence to go out there and do what I do. I have really learned so much from this lot – from the senior as well as younger guys – from the experiences they have shared with me.

You have grown up on nice, green New Zealand wickets. How was bowling here for two months?I could use all my weapons here, especially the slower ones. And if you hit the deck hard you still get the bounce on these wickets.

If a guy has a problem playing the short-pitched bowling, it plays into my hand. I hope to play much more cricket in India, for New Zealand and for Mumbai Indians.Does setting up a batsman with a bouncer work in T20?You look to try and get the batsman into a position he is not comfortable with.

You have to get him on the backfoot with a bouncer and then bring him forward. You have to always look for wickets in T20 cricket. If you look to restrict, you will never restrict them.

That is something I have learned back home and it is nice to bring it here as well..

Source: http://www.iplt20.com/news/2015/features/6953/life-will-change-for-me-after-ipl-win-pandya