I'm glad we managed to pull off a win on Friday against the Kolkata Knight Riders as it will give us some positive momentum going into our other games. We were unfortunate against Kings XI Punjab but the game is all about inches, and two metres more and we could have won.
On Sunday, we play the Bangalore Royal Challengers. It's going to be a tough one and it's difficult to say what will happen. Every team has had its ups and downs, with the exception of the Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils. We will be taking a lot of hunger into the match but no one knows what can happen on the day. If we strike early and take wickets in the first six overs and our top order comes good, then we have a good chance.
They have some great players in Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and Anil Kumble. Virat and Sreevats are also playing well. From our point of view, we will have to watch out for Kumble and Praveen Kumar. Pollock and Jonty have played with Boucher and Kallis and against Kumble, and their inputs and experience can definitely give us a good understanding of what we will have to do to put us in the driver’s seat. Still, we will not be taking them lightly, especially after that great win over Kings XI on Friday, and will have to play very well to beat them. It will be an interesting contest.
Sachin and Sanath are our key players, of course, but it is unfair to expect them to give us a good start all the time. This is a team effort and all eleven of us have to contribute. The pitch at the Wanderers had taken a bit of wear and tear over the season and may play a bit on the slow side. Generally, it is a good batting wicket and, hopefully, we will be able to cash in on that.
KKR played a lot better on Friday and the match came down to the wire. They bowled very well in the middle overs, and we lost crucial wickets at key moments, but capitalized at the end. Our bowlers, especially Zaheer, came out and swung the momentum back in our favour. Against them, it is always important to knock off their top four-five batsmen as early as possible, and luckily for us we got rid of Ganguly and Gayle quickly.
For me, it was good to get among the runs and I'm glad that I was able to help pull off the win against the Kolkata side. I knew I had to anchor the innings and my strategy was to get the ones and twos and the odd boundary. It was a pity, however, that I was not able to pull off a win for the team against Kings XI. Hopefully, the fans will keep supporting us and help us carry this momentum into the match against the Royal Challengers on Sunday, and indeed into the rest of our games. In the end, however, Twenty20 is all about luck and whether it is going to be your day or not. (Gameplan)
