• The win against Chennai was extremely satisfying as it was timely and got us closer to our initial goal of making the semifinals for the third straight year. We now gear up for our all important game against the Deccan Chargers, who must also be feeling recharged after their run chase against Punjab in Dharamsala yesterday.

     

    We will be playing in Delhi once again, and while the last match, against Punjab, did not go our way, we have a fair measure of the wicket and conditions at the Kotla. Against the Kings XI team, the pitch was slower and drier than we expected, and as a result we were unable to put up a good score.

     

    This time round, we have an opportunity to fall back on that experience and get it right. It's really hot in Delhi right now, so the pitch is drying up which makes strokeplay slightly difficult.

     

    The good news is that the team has taken a lot of confidence from our performance against Chennai in their territory. We were asked to bowl first, and Dirk Nannes and

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  • The IPL league phase is into its last few days and while some teams have virtually made the semi-finals, things could change for others, with one slot still very open. Deccan Chargers need to win at least one of their two remaining matches, and tomorrow’s game between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders is a must-win for both. Even then, they still have to depend on other results to get through - not a happy situation.

     

    Tomorrow's game at the Eden Gardens will also be a pressure game, and it will test Kolkata’s mental strength. They have just not got a streak of wins going in this tournament, but they are not out of it. If they win their next two games, they will at least know that they did what they could to make the semi-finals, and who knows Lady Luck might smile at the Knight Riders.

     

    The immediate fallout of this spate of high-tension games is that scores have come tumbling down from the 190s to the sub-140s. Pitches have slowed down, but not as much as the scores would

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  • The mood is a bit grim in the group right now. We are obviously disappointed by the loss to Chennai. It has hurt us, especially where our run-rate is concerned. It was unfortunate that we turned in our worst performance in that crucial must-win match. Now, it's important we pick up and turn up ready to play the last two group matches - against Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians - to the best of our ability.

     

    Our support staff has done a great job but they cannot go out and play for us, and against Chennai we needed something special after losing four early wickets. The pitch had reasonable carry and bounce, though it was the spinners who had a field day and Ashwin was really good.  Raina, too, was brilliant and took the game away from us: he never really gave us a chance.

     

    Rajasthan, whom we play on Saturday, are a good side. They may have lost their last two games and the way they went down to Bangalore the other night has not helped their run-rate either, but they have shown that

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