Daredevils skipper gives credit to Akhtar's super spell

15th May 2008

The Delhi Daredevils had a good start to the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) but seem to be losing their way now in the mid-stages. Fighting for a place in the 'final four', the Virender Sehwag-led unit have now slipped to fifth place on the IPL points table.

Delhi's fifth loss in nine games has now left the contest wide open to see who makes it to Round 2.

With a lot at stake for himself and his team, Sehwag spoke at the post-match press conference after their recent loss to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Sehwag said that he was not surprised at the defeat as such things keep happening in cricket when you're losing close games. He added that their team's next focus was to try and focus on the next five games and qualify for the next round.

He admits he had to make a close call when choosing his bowlers for the match against Kolkata. Regarding his decision to drop Mohammad Asif from the side, he said that he chose Farveez Maharoof over the Pakistani pacer because Maharoof also has the ability to contribute with the bat.

Sehwag has a batting average of 35 in the IPL backed by a brilliant strike rate of 176 but he was bowled for a golden duck by IPL debutant Shoaib Akhtar who claimed four Delhi wickets in helping Kolkata attain their fifth victory.

Sehwag was humble enough to appreciate Shoaib's return to cricket saying, "Shoaib is a great bowler. Anytime he plays, he can destroy a team. Sometimes he goes for runs and sometimes he picks wickets. But his bowling spell was the best I've seen in the IPL so far."

The 'Nawab of Najafgarh', as he is commonly known, described his own game plan saying that he plays with an instinctive mind frame where he just goes to hit every ball which sometimes does and sometimes doesn't work in his favour.

It is perceived that players who play well in the IPL are very well rewarded monetarily for their efforts in the game but as opposed to playing for your country, pride and honour take more precedence over the money.

But Sehwag was quick to refute this fact saying, "I don't think performances are weighed against money in IPL. It's pride playing for Delhi and playing for yourself because everyone's looking at you, everybody wants runs from you. The same type of pressure is present in the IPL. It doesn't matter if it's IPL or international cricket."

The flamboyant opener said that his loss against Kolkata has put his team in a "do or die" mode as they need to win as many of their next 5 games as they can to make it to the next round of the competition.

The Delhi Daredevils will play all their 5 games over the next eight days with their first game against the Deccan Chargers tomorrow at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium at home.