It was a difficult Sunday as we watched the game between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers. We weren't sure if 133 would be enough for Deccan to defend but, with Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra in their ranks, we were hoping for a great bowling performance.
After the second
over, I got busy packing my bags as Chris Gayle looked in great form!
The match flowed back and forth and in the end it was an emotional rollercoaster ride for us. There has been talk about us being lucky but we see it as a fact that we had the right amount of wins and a higher run-rate. The fact we finished early and that the others weren't good enough to go past us is not luck.
Quiet determination
There was cheer in the camp when we got through but, there was also quiet determination that we now have an opportunity to make it three in a row.
We have been here before and know what it takes to win from here and win the competition, so the pressure is less on us.
My focus will be on two key factors - anticipation and expectation. After coming so close to missing out on the excitement, harnessing the enthusiasm into a great performance is the number one goal.
Mumbai are our sole focus as we understand their qualities and how good we will have to be. If we do win, we will change our focus to a home game shootout with the winner of the first game. Exciting times!
TCM
The writer is the CSK coach