The Deccan Chargers are now playing for pride. We know we cannot qualify for the IPL semi-finals but each of us wants to redeem our pride, both individual and collective, as we go into the match versus the Mumbai Indians tomorrow. I thought we did well against Delhi in our last game and were unfortunate to lose chasing a big score, by a very narrow margin. What we would also dearly love to do tomorrow is win a match on our home ground in front of our loyal fans, something which we have not been able to do so far. As a team, we know we
owe them that.Mumbai is on something of a roll at the moment. Ever since they defeated the Knight Riders in Kolkata, Mumbai have been a force transformed. They had a bad start to the tournament even as some of their younger Indians like Abhishek Nayar were putting up good performances. But the moment their seasoned pros came to the party, Mumbai turned their fortunes around and have given themselves a chance – even if it's a tough one – of entering the semi-finals. But we are determined to put up a winning fight and have the personnel to beat them.
Watching Shaun Pollock bowl that terrific spell that destroyed Kolkata last night and seeing Sanath Jayasuriya dart around in the field plotting and planning with Sachin Tendulkar, I thought was a statement in itself. Age is a big issue here in Indian cricket and many seem to think that T20 is only for the twentysomethings.
But I feel that age is not the most accurate criteria to judge the worth of a cricketer, fitness and performance is. As long as a player has that going for him and the intensity of his performances do not dip, he should have a place on the park. Jayasuriya is one of the quickest men around in the circle, we know what Sachin can do and in my own team, there's the example of Adam Gilchrist. Gilly is one of our fittest members and can put younger men in the shade.
We're quite disappointed by the fact that we're not in the reckoning for the final four because we can see there are no favourites in the IPL going into its last fortnight. Everyone has a chance of the big prize. It's difficult to predict how games are going to go: results have been topsy turvy and teams doing well have had the tables turned by those who have been struggling. This game is about momentum and it can work either way – you can go on a roll with victories or keep sliding with defeats.
The Delhi Daredevils and King's XI also meet tomorrow night and that will be a good contest too. King's XI are a very well balanced teams and the Daredevils have some daredevil match winners. But again, don't read anything into their previous results or performances – it's all about who can put it together on the day.
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