Gambhir: Team effort matters to me

The Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir spoke about the reasons for his side's downfall in Airtel CLT20.

Q.Delhi Daredevils had a mixed bag of results in the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 tournament. How do you sum up this competition?
A.I think playing three matches in Delhi on this kind of track was difficult especially when we played against Victoria. It was our first game and we never knew what total would be a winning one. But I think that one game made a lot of difference, as you can see. And then we didn't really capitalise on the chances against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the League Stage. If we would have grabbed our chances then we would have certainly made it into the semi-finals of the tournament.

Q.Do you think the failure of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag - as an opening pair - was the reason behind Delhi Daredevils failure to reach the semis?
A.Obviously, as an opening pair one needs to give a good start to the team in any form of the game - be it Twenty20s, one-day games or Tests. At the same time, the expectations which people have from us have gone really high. That puts a bit of pressure whenever I take guard but it also poses a challenge. But then one plays cricket for these very challenges. I play cricket to accept those challenges and do well. Maybe in this tournament Viru [Virender Sehwag] and I didn't click as a pair and I agree that it was one of the reasons why we didn't do well in the tournament.

Q.You recently said that your side missed the services of Daniel Vettori, but you had another option in Amit Mishra.
A. Danny [Daniel Vettori] is a quality bowler. He has this amazing ability of drying up the runs with his immaculate line and length - he is a top class player. I have already said that his absence was felt throughout this tournament. Amit [Mishra] bowled pretty well in the tournament but his combination with Danny would have made this a different ball game altogether.

Q. How was the experience of captaining Delhi Daredevils?
A. It is a completely different experience when you captain the side because it is a new challenge and a huge responsibility as well. At the same time, one not only has to think about his own game but also about the rest of the players. Things like how to motivate them and take the best out of them. So it is great challenge. Personally it has been a great experience for me and hopefully I will learn a lot from this stint as skipper. For me, only team goals matter. It is always the team effort that matters to me.

Q. And what was it like leading a team with Glenn McGrath in its ranks?
A. It was a great honour, I must say. Captaining Glenn McGrath is without doubt one of the high points of my career. He is a once in a lifetime kind of a cricketer. And one can learn so many things from him just by watching him sweat it out in the nets.

Q. You looked relaxed while captaining the side even when you were losing.
A. I have always been calm and composed on the field whenever I have led the side. I try to keep myself as relaxed as possible. I think it is important for the entire team and for me personally as well. I don't like to show emotions. I prefer to stay calm and just take control of the situation. And that is what I have been trying to do throughout Airtel Champions League Twenty20.

Q. What is the secret behind your consistency in all formats of the game over the last two years?
A.I try to prepare myself in a similar fashion for all three formats. I try to keep my game simple. The aim is to score runs off each ball I face whether it is Tests, ODIs or Twenty20s. That is my basic game. I have always gone in with this mindset. This could be the reason why people say I have adjusted well to all three formats of the game. For me, the key is to keep thing as simple as possible. When I am playing Test cricket, I don't go to the middle just to survive - I go in there to score runs. I think that is one reason why I have been able to give consistent performances in all the three formats of the game.

Q. But to achieve that is a huge challenge.
A. Look, if you ask me as a batsman or any of the cricketers, it is really hard to adapt to all three formats of the game. One needs to shift gears and more importantly, in my opinion, one needs to increase the risk-taking factor while playing the shorter versions of the game. And then reduce it while keeping the flair intact in Test cricket. To be consistent in all three versions of the game is really difficult whether you are a bowler or a batsman - it is a challenge.

Q. Senior pros like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have spoken about the 'zone' they find themselves in while batting. Have you ever entered that 'zone'?
A.Firstly, I want to go in there and score runs for the team and that is more important as compared all to other things. I don't know about the 'zone', but I sometimes feel that it is all about confidence. It is more about the mindset, how well prepared you are for the game. I have always laid special emphasis on my preparation for a match and it works for me. If I look back, there was a time while I was batting in Napier (he scored 137 runs to help India draw the third Test and win the Test series 1-0) against New Zealand when I could just see the ball and nothing else. But at the same time my confidence and concentration were really high. Was it the 'zone'? I cannot say. I suppose if I reached that state of mind in the future while batting, I might recognise it as such.

Q. Do you think that there are times when you need to shed your aggression to get your eye-in?
A. Well, sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. In Twenty20, one needs to take chances from the word 'go' because it is the bang-bang format. So one requires to take the initiative from the start. In 50 overs' and Test cricket, one still has time on his hand to settle down and get his eye in before making shots but in the shortest version, there is very little time.

Q. IPL-3 will be held in March next year. Your thoughts about the home support and the unfinished business in IPL.
A.I think it will be exciting to play in front of the home crowds. It is always a great feeling when the entire crowd is behind you, like we saw in Bangalore when we played against RCB. Hopefully, we will be able to turn things around. Delhi Daredevils have been the most consistent side in the last two editions of the IPL but unfortunately, we just played one bad game and crashed out both the times. It will be a great challenge because a lot of teams know each other's strengths and weaknesses after having played two editions.

Q.Trinidad & Tobago have been the flavour of the season. Do you think they are favourites to lift the CLT20 cup?
A.I think in Twenty20s, no one is really a favourite. They have been playing really well. It is important for West Indies cricket that the side do well. They have shown the amount of flair they have and how good they can be on good tracks. They have played as team and I wish them all the best in the tournament.

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Delhi Daredevils finish on a high

Delhi Daredevils ended their Airtel Champions League Twenty20 campaign on a high by handing the South African side, Cape Cobras, a 30-run defeat.

Early breakthroughs and regular wickets thereafter vindicated the Cape Cobras skipper Andrew Puttick's surprising decision to field as the Delhi Daredevils struggled with the bat.

Owais Shah helped finish the innings with a flourish with an unbeaten 39, while Dinesh Karthik scored 23 as the home side finished with a modest 114 for six.

The Daredevils, however, defended that small total with aplomb, fast bowler Dirk Nannes claiming three wickets for 19, while spinners Amit Mishra, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Yogesh Nagar claimed two apiece as the Cobras, who are already in the semi-finals, were restricted to 84 in 18.3 overs.

Fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt had rocked Delhi's top order, dismissing both opening batsmen, Dilshan and Gautam Gambhir, in his first over after Monde Zondeki had delivered an excellent over with the new ball.

Dinesh Karthik, one of the few Daredevils batsmen to return with some success in this tournament, revived the innings together with with Manoj Tiwary (19).

Tiwary, one of three changes in the side, provided the early spark, turning Zondeki to fine leg for four, but Karthik's impressive form soon came to the fore.

The wicketkeeper batsman ruined Klienveldt's figures by slamming him for three consecutive boundaries, the first through mid-wicket and the others over cover.

Tiwary, however, fell to Claude Henderson, the left-arm spinner striking in his first over, and Karthik was then run out following a mix-up with Shah as the Daredevils again slumped.

Nagar (10) and Shah lowered their sights and settled for singles as the Daredevils recovered slightly.

The two put on 34 for the fifth wicket, but Nagar perished while attempting to force the pace and the Daredevils crumbled again.

Shah injected some acceleration at the death, blasting Justin Ontong for the only six of the innings and clubbing two boundaries as the Daredevils finished with a modest, but defendable total.

Dilshan, handed the new ball, provided the early breakthrough removing Herschelle Gibbs for a golden duck.

Nannes then sent down a fiery first spell, bowling Puttick with one that kept low, but the Cobras, with Davids and JP Duminy at the crease, seemed to have weathered the storm.

Davids, however, was run out and leg-spinner Mishra struck twice in an over to scalp the dangerous Duminy and the big-hitting Klienveldt and leave the Cobras reeling at 57 for five.

Dilshan then returned to bowl Ontong before Nannes destroyed the tail with two wickets in his final over as the Daredevils eased to victory.

The Teams:

Cape Cobras: AG Puttick*, HH Gibbs, H Davids, JP Duminy, JL Ontong, VD Philander, RCC Canning†, RK Kleinveldt, CW Henderson, M Zondeki, FC Plaatjies

Delhi Daredevils: G Gambhir*, TM Dilshan, KD Karthik†, MK Tiwary, OA Shah, Y Nagar, R Bhatia, A Mishra, PJ Sangwan, DP Nannes, AM Salvi

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BRC face DD in the clash of IPL sides

Royal Challengers Bangalore lock horns with the Delhi Daredevils in a potential high-voltage match of the Airtel CLT20.

In a match which would see several cricketing stars in action, the Royal Challengers, who were thumped by Victorian Bushrangers in the League B opener two days ago, just cannot afford to lose today as that would confirm their ouster.

The Bangalore squad looked well-balanced on paper with world-class batsmen and bowlers in their ranks but they have not been able to put their act together in the tournament so far, having won just one game out of four.

Any side which has Robin Uthappa, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey and Mark Boucher would be a formidable batting unit but they have not fired in unison in the two out of four matches.

In the bowling front also, Bangalore boasts of Anil Kumble, Kallis, Dale Steyn, Roelof van der Merwe and Praveen Kumar but here again, except for Kallis, none has been consistent.

Bangalore need an inspired performance from Kumble tomorrow against the likes of his former India teammates Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

Incidentally, Delhi Daredevils has a similar concern with its batting.

Their key player Tillakaratne Dilshan is struggling and more importantly, the burden of captaincy seems to have bogged down Gautam Gambhir.

Only Sehwag seems to be enjoying his game, while consistency eludes Dinesh Karthik.
One department which could tilt the balance in favour of the Daredevils could be their bowling with Australian Dirk Nannes carrying over his red-hot form of the Indian Premier League II. He has taken four wickets out of the two group matches.
The Daredevils had also been strengthened by the good showing of retired Australian great Glenn McGrath in their last match against Wayamba of Sri Lanka.
The born-again Ashish Nehra is yet to make his mark in the tournament while Amit Mishra has been average so far.

Squads (From):
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Anil Kumble (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Balachandra Akhil, Rajesh Bishnoi, Mark Boucher, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Manish Pandey, Ross Taylor, Robin Uthappa, Roelof van der Merwe and Vinay Kumar.
Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (c), Virender Sehwag, Rajat Bhatia, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Yogesh Nagar, Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra, Aavishkar Salvi, Pradeep Sangwan, Owais Shah, Manoj Tiwary.

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Sehwag onslaught keeps Daredevils alive

Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Karthik blazed half-centuries as the Delhi Daredevils powered to a 50-run win over Wayamba XI in the Airtel CL T20.

The Delhi Daredevils needed victory in Delhi to stay in the competition, and Sehwag set the tone with a superb 66 from 42 deliveries at the top of the order.

Karthik slammed Ajantha Mendis for three consecutive sixes en route to a similarly destructive 61 from 41 deliveries in a formidable 170 for five.

Fast bowler Dirk Nannes then claimed four wickets, and Glenn McGrath rolled back the years to pick up two as the Daredevils cruised to victory.

New South Wales Blues and the Sussex Sharks had struggled to put bat to ball on the same surface a few hours earlier, but Sehwag showed little discomfort as he drove fast bowler Isuru Udana for a straight four for his first runs.

Tillakaratne Dilshan opened alongside Sehwag, but the International Cricket Council's Twenty20 player made only 10 - and captain Gautam Gambhir also departed cheaply, undone by one that stayed low.

Sehwag, however, dominated a third-wicket stand with Karthik - the opener racing to his half-century off 32 deliveries before being run out.

Karthik found good support in Owais Shah - and the wicketkeeper-batsman ruined Mendis' figures by slamming 23 off his last over.

Nannes, who shared the new ball with fellow left-armer Ashish Nehra, then secured the early breakthroughs - bowling Mahela Udawatte and Michael Vandort in his first two overs.

McGrath, a replacement for the injured Paul Collingwood, then took two wickets in his second over to leave Sri Lanka's Wayamba in deep trouble on 36 for five in the eighth over.

Mahela Jayawardene fought a lone battle and had made 53 when Nannes returned to claim his scalp, on the way to figures of four for 24.

Teams:
Delhi Daredevils: G Gambhir*, V Sehwag, TM Dilshan, KD Karthik†, MK Tiwary, OA Shah, R Bhatia, A Mishra, DP Nannes, A Nehra, GD McGrath.

Wayamba: MG Vandort, ML Udawatte, J Mubarak*, DPMD Jayawardene, HGJM Kulatunga, KS Lokuarachchi, MF Maharoof, RSSS de Zoysa†, BAW Mendis, I Udana, UWMBCA Welegedara.

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Victoria cruise past Daredevils

Victorian Bushrangers secured an easy seven-wicket victory against Delhi Daredevils after the home side put up a 99-run target for them.

After Amit Mishra disturbed Ron Quiney's timber, Tillakaratne Dilshan knocked off Brad Hodge's middle stump to account for the second wicket.

David Hussey could not contribute much and lost his wicket to Rajat Bhatia.

Earlier, Shane Harwood bowled a precise one to disturb Gautam Gambhir's timber and draw the first blood for Victoria. Daredevils had won the toss and opted to bat.

Virender Sehwag followed soon as Clint McKay took a brilliant catch off his own bowling to dismiss the star batsman.

Owais Shah was back to the pavillion even before putting any mark against his name, with McKay striking again.

Daredevils' wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik also could not stand for long and was run out.

Delhi side's Sri Lankan recruit, Tillakaratne Dilshan, was looking in good form till he lost his off-stump to McKay in an attempt to hit a big one.

Harwood then disturbed Mithun Manhas' timber to account for his second wicket.

Andrew McDonald claimed Rajat Bhatia and Pradeep Sangwan's wickets in the last over to warp up Daredevils' innings at a meagre 98/8.

Delhi Daredevils will seek to capitalise on the experience of legendary Australian paceman Glenn McGrath against Victoria.

Delhi have lost three overseas players - South African AB de Villers, England's Paul Collingwood and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand - in quick succession on the run-up to the cash-rich 12-team event.

McGrath, who replaced Collingwood, and Australian paceman Dirk Nannes could forge a lethal pair, which has the ability to inflict early blows and break the backbone of opponent line-ups.

In the absence of experienced Vettori, Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra would be a key member of Delhi's bowling armoury, while Rajat Bhatia's medium pace may help Delhi get some breakthroughs.

Paceman Peter Siddle might be the man on whom skipper White would depend highly as the other Victoria bowlers lack the experience of often placid sub-continent pitch.

Delhi Daredevils: G Gambhir*, V Sehwag, TM Dilshan, KD Karthik†, OA Shah, M Manhas, R Bhatia, A Mishra, PJ Sangwan, DP Nannes, A Nehra

Victoria: BJ Hodge, RJ Quiney, AC Blizzard, DJ Hussey, CL White*, AB McDonald, MS Wade†, CJ McKay, SM Harwood, JM Holland, PM Siddle

McGrath may replace Vettori

Delhi Daredevils plan to replace the injured Daniel Vettori and Paul Collingwood with Glen McGrath and Yogesh Nagar respectively.

While New Zealand skipper Vettori suffered a hamstring injury and sat out of his team’s ICC Champions Trophy final loss against Australia, Collingwood will have to miss the Champions League Twenty20 with a strained buttock.

McGrath, who was signed by the two time IPL semi-finalists in 2008 played a crucial role in the Daredevils’ success in the first edition but sat out the entire second edition in South Africa.

A team source said they have ‘requested’ the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 Organising Committee according to ‘protocol’.

“We have placed a request with the organisers and nothing has been confirmed yet,” the source said.

The Daredevils, besides Vettori and England batsman Collingwood, will also miss South African batting sensation AB deVilliers.

The team, according to a New South Wales source, had refused to retain David Warner and let him play on for the Big Bash Twenty20 winners.

An ECB medical team had issued a release earlier today, saying Collingwood will be unable to participate.

"The scan revealed a grade-two tear and Paul has been withdrawn from the forthcoming Champions League in India in which he was due to play for Delhi Daredevils," the release said.

The Daredevils are placed in probably the toughest group of the Championship, with the Victorian Bushrangers and Wayamba.

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