While the Daredevils team left for Hyderabad in the morning, captain Sehwag stayed back in Delhi an extra day to celebrate his son's birthday, and also to reflect on what needs to be done to turn around his team's fortunes.
The Indian Premier League is about seizing the moment and maintaining momentum but the other day, the Daredevils missed out on a good surface.
It was a familiar story of batsmen not firing and bowlers, at least in the beginning, spraying the ball on either side of the wicket.
As it happens in a T20 contest, momentum shifts suddenly. Only two days back, Sehwag had subdued the Tuskers on a dreadful wicket, but at the Kotla, Kochi bounced back in style to level the scores.
Working silently behind the scenes as part of the Tuskers support staff was Sanjay Bangar, the assistant coach. Bangar, who had a very successful Ranji season with the Railways this year, is the only current player who is in a coaching assignment in the IPL.
But this is hardly a surprise because Bangar is a committed professional in the Rahul Dravid mould, a focussed, determined player with an excellent work ethic.
{{/usCountry}}But this is hardly a surprise because Bangar is a committed professional in the Rahul Dravid mould, a focussed, determined player with an excellent work ethic.
{{/usCountry}}Besides Robin Singh (Mumbai Indians) and Venkatesh Prased (RCB), Pravin Amre, Vikram Rathore and Vijay Dahiya are the other relatively young coaches working with IPL teams. Amre has done five years with the Mumbai Ranji team and also worked with the India-A sides. He is astute and experienced, and has an intuitive feel for the game.
Dahiya, the former Delhi coach, is sharp and someone who understands cricket and cricketers. That he is articulate and has an opinion is a major plus.
Who knows, when the next opportunity comes for picking an Indian coach after Duncan Fletcher, one of these will step forward for the top job.