It is less than ideal that Delhi will know their opponents only after Thursday’s game, but the consolation is that the opponents will be equally clueless as to whether they will be playing Chennai or us on Friday.
It’s been a hard week after we made the semifinals with the team finding it hard to focus on games that didn’t affect our position in the points table. However, winning is a good habit, and it needs to be nurtured. Which is why it was disappointing to see our batting under-perform against Bangalore. The bowling has been adequate, and Dirk Nannes continues to be the standout bowler.
We have proved that we are the best and most rounded side. We have great depth in batting with AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and David Warner doing a good job. Gautam Gambhir has been good in a couple of games, but he has been a little below his high standards. The same holds true for Virender Sehwag and his injury and fever did not help. However, it is unlikely that Viru will not play even one matchwinning hand, and what better time than the knockout stage.
It has been hard to be a part of the bench, and I was hoping for a game during the league stage. I have asked a couple of people about why I was not being played, and I get the sense that they were worried about my fitness. I feel fitter than I did last year, but I guess I will not get a chance to prove that now.
{{/usCountry}}It has been hard to be a part of the bench, and I was hoping for a game during the league stage. I have asked a couple of people about why I was not being played, and I get the sense that they were worried about my fitness. I feel fitter than I did last year, but I guess I will not get a chance to prove that now.
{{/usCountry}}Though there is disappointment at not playing, it was great to give tips to Pradeep Sangwan and Yo Mahesh. I was really pleased to see how well Ashish Nehra has performed. My time with the team has been fruitful and I was happy to interact with Dinesh Kartik, who has a fine cricket mind. They were all great to have in the change room and if I have been able to help any of these guys in any way, I would be very pleased. I am contracted for another year with Delhi, but that is a long way away. Right now, I would not bet on myself returning.
Coming back to the semifinal, I would say that Delhi are still to play at their best. If they can do that either on Friday, or better still, on Sunday, the silverware will be in Delhi next week. Gameplan