It was important that I scored runs: Sehwag

Centurion:Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag can be as blatant as he wants to be, but he makes sense most of the times. Here's more from the man of the moment. Excerpts from the press conference::  On hitting form: It was very important for my team that I hit form before the semi-finals. I am very happy with the way I made the runs today. I was batting like I normally bat. It was good that I was able to make 50 off 35 or 36 balls. On increasing the foreign player quota: This is Indian Premier League and not an International Premier League. So it's better more Indian players play in this IPL. On his comment that he was one innings away from hitting form: I have never seen anybody who can flop in 10-12 games. So that's why I was very confident that I was one innings away from coming back to form. And today I got runs and I am pretty happy about it. On the top six doing well: We tried a couple of things after we got sure of a semi-final berth. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't. Today we tried David Warner. He and Gauti gave us a good start. In three overs we got 36 runs. After that I carried on and played my shots. It is pretty good to have six international batsmen who have the experience of international cricket. They can then handle the pressure of IPL. On the ability to smash the ball over the top for six: Yes, everybody can smash the ball. But it depends on your day. If today is your day, tomorrow it could someone else's day. So there is somebody who can raise their game for Delhi. On whether he will bat in the middle-order again: No, it's not like that. I am not in form, so there is no point for me to go out and open. Gautam and David Warner have given us good starts in couple of games. They did the job for us again today. I am very happy about that. On the fact that they still don't know who their opponents will be: I think we have played twice against Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers. So I am not worried about who our opponents will be in the semi-finals. I am okay playing against any team. On playing back to back games: Twenty20 is a three-hour game. So it’s not much of a problem. Everybody will go back to the hotel and do some relaxation, stretching exercises and take some massage and we will be ready for the game tomorrow. On resting Nehra: Ashish Nehra is our main bowler. He was rested because he won't be able to play back to back games as his body is like that, susceptible to injuries. So we have given him rest. But it is heartening to note that our other two bowlers -- Sangwan and Salvi -- are doing very well. On the four under-22 players concept: I think if he is good then franchises will pick him for next year as well. Shikhar Dhawan is an example. He did well for Delhi and Mumbai Indians picked him up this season.

We can't blame anyone but ourselves for this mess: Yuvraj

DURBAN: Chennai Super Kings gave a severe blow to Kings XI Punjab’s hopes of reaching the semifinals as they beat them by 24 runs in a low-scoring match of the DLF Indian Premier League tie at Kingsmead here on Wednesday. Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the 12 overs bowled by the off-spinners helped them win the match. “It was a fantastic effort to defend the small total. Ashwin was awesome. He was playing his first game and we kept shuffling him. Murali kept on the pressure and Raina, too, was brilliant,” he said.  “The 12 overs bowled by the spinners helped us win the match. Not to forget the good start given by Manpreet Goni and Thilan Tushara,” said Dhoni, adding that he wasn’t perturbed by his team’s batting collapse today. “Our batting has been good throughout. Today was one such day when we could not get it right. Maybe we were short of a batsman or two due to the absence of Matthew Hayden. But we can always improve.” Yuvraj Singh was dejected and said that the team had none but themselves to blame for the mess. “We were good in the field. Unfortunately we could capitalise. We had a decent start but we could not get decent partnerships. We can’t blame anyone but ourselves for this mess,” he said “After restricting them for 116, we should have achieved the target with ease. But we failed. When you are in good situation like this, you can’t let it go. But I am happy with the fact that despite so many absentees due to injuries and other commitments, the boys played with a lot of effort,” he said. Muttaih Muralitharan, who finished with astonishing figures (two for eight in four overs) for his man-of-the-match-award, said that he was happy to have done his job. “I am happy to have contributed to my team’s cause. It’s good to see myself among wickets. MS Dhoni gave me the ball early in the innings and I just tried to bowl my line and length,” he said.  “My job was to create pressure and I managed to do that. Spinners bowled very well and pressure killed them. Raina has done a good job for us in so many matches. I hope he keeps going,” he said.

From now, it will be about three hours: Dhoni

DURBAN: With his spin bowlers doing a perfect job and helping the team defend their modest total against Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a happy man. On the pitch where Warne failed and Murali stood out: If you are asking me to compare the two bowlers, I think one should not compare them. Both are really the best. Their departments are different – one is leg-spinner and the other is an off-spinner. I think Muralitharan bowled a great line and length. I am not comparing him with Warne. I think since the target was low and I am assuming that the opposition thought to play him through. But I think the credit should also go to Ashwin and Raina and they both bowled a good line and because of that the pressure kept on mounting. Eventually when a wicket falls it is never easy for a new batsman to come in and go after the bowler. So, it kept on mounting and from six runs per over to 15 or 16 runs per over. It became really tough and I believe that was one of the reasons. Maybe Kings XI Punjab had to win the match and they thought that 'Murali is the main bowler and we should play him through'. But I think it was an off day for them and their plan didn’t work. I am quite happy to be on the winning side. On Suresh Raina's bowling: I think if you look at the composition of our side then you will realise that we are playing with two spinners which is more than sufficient. Having Suresh Raina is a great asset for us. Whatever opportunity he has got, he has grabbed it with both hands. Raina has bowled line and length in the pressure games where the ball was not turning. I think Raina gives you another option if I am playing with four fast bowlers and two spinners then I know that I have Raina who can bowl full quota of four overs. On his bowlers: Manpreet Gony performed well. If you see the improvement in him from his first game, it is drastic. We gave a chance to Thilan Thushara after few games and he also bowled really well. It was good to see our bowlers performing well. I think we always had a decent bowling line-up but down on confidence. But today's performance will help them a lot and should bring their confidence back. Hopefully they will bowl in the next two games, also assuming that we will reach final. On his team's strategy: It becomes really difficult when your bowling department is not doing well in the majority of matches in a tournament. So, when you move to a wicket which is good for batsmen, it can be a tricky. But from now it will be more of a lottery system. If one batsman has a good day then he can take the team through. One can say that till now one had to play as a team consistently but now onwards it will be about three hours. Somebody like Hayden or a Raina has a good day or a bowler like Muralitharan can see our team through. I think all the four teams who qualify for the semis will be all strong teams. We saw really close games and those teams who failed to qualify were also good but were unfortunate to bow out. The best part of the tournament was the way points table shuffled and kept everyone guessing. If the last league matches are interesting, one cannot ask for anything more. On not worrying about the opponents in the semis: It is not about worrying. It is about whoever you face in the semis. It is not about being over confident – having fear of the opponent because having said and done if we played to our potential- we can be a tough side to beat. We are not really worried about it. We want to enjoy, specially tonight. Since, we know that we are through to the semis but tomorrow we will start preparing for the semis. Till now we have had made some mistakes, but from now onwards 15 minutes of madness and we can lose the match. From now on it will be tricky. On Warne's remarks that Super Kings are the favourites: It feels good when somebody reckons you as the favourites in the tournament. On losing temper: It is very difficult to control the temper when you see people who are talented but are not using their talent to the maximum. If I see a talented player I want him to perform well. I try to provide him with the right scenario where he can perform, but if he is not really working hard on his game then it really gets me angry. One thing which really irritates me is to grab the attention of the guys who are guarding the boundaries. One thing which is very basic. These are the basic mistakes where you can say I lose my temper. It is not about going for boundaries or sixes. I know it is cricket and one can have a off-day but there are some basics in the game. It is just a 20 over game and if one can concentrate on the match and keep a eye on the skipper it can help. I try to use my energy in field placing and bowling changes and I don’t want it to waste on grabbing the attention of a fielder. I think all players should be looking in the middle for 20 overs though it was a little difficult for the fielders to spot me as I was not keeping the wickets. On Albie Morkel, Badrinath and Hayden: Albie Morkel and Badrinath had niggles and they didn't needed to be rested. We could have played them. We played Badri because we thought out batting would weaken if he is not there. Hayden will be fine. The physio has said so. We could have pushed him to play this match but it is good to have him for the semifinals.

Quick Recall 56: Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Deccan Chargers

Match No. 56: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers  When: On May 21, 2009 Where: At the SuperSport Park in Centurion near Pretoria Who won: Royal Challengers Bangalore by 12 runs. Man of the match:Manish Pandey What'd he do: Manish Pandey became the second batsman after AB de Villiers to reach the three figure-mark in the second season of DLF Indian Premier League. He relentlessly attacked the Deccan Chargers bowlers from the word go using his impeccable strokeplay as a weapon. With seniors failing in the crucial match, the 19-year-old played a spectacular knock smashing 114 runs off 73 balls. MVP of the match: Anil Kumble for his calm leadership - and his bowling  Innovative stroke: In the 15th over, Pandey played sweep-flick off Pragyan Ojha's delivery and placed it wide of midwicket. Turning points: In the third over, RP Singh who was guarding the third man region dropped a sitter offered by Manish Pandey, suggesting he couldn't see the ball. The youngster went on score his maiden hundred dismantling every Deccan Chargers bowler. Rohit Sharma who has been winning matches for Deccan Chargers out of nowhere was dismissed in the 19th over.  Dot-ball heroes: Anil Kumble sent down 13 dot balls in a fairly high-scoring game.  Captain vs. Captain: Anil Kumble proved to be a leader of deliberation, pre-match planning and a man who held his nerve even when his strike bowler Kallis had to bow out because of an knee injury. And he also bowled superbly. Gilchrist on the other hand also did well but was outdone by poor fielding. Off-beat moment: Kumble's jubilation after taking Rohit Sharma’s wicket in the penultimate over was a Kodak moment. It was amazing to see a test veteran jump like a 19-year-old.

We have been inconsistent: Tendulkar

CENTURION: Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar was very honest in admitting that his side was very inconsistent in the DLF Indian Premier League competition. Here's more from the champion batsman after the side went down to Delhi Daredevils in their final game.

On the missed opportunities: Sometimes even after you have tried a lot, somehow it does not click. The big difference till now has been of just two-three runs so far, very rarely the other side has beaten us overwhelmingly. The only game I remember is that Johannesburg match against Royal Challengers Bangalore when they had a upper-hand over us from first ball. There have been very few one-side games against us. Eventually if we had scored that extra run here and there, then maybe we would have been in the semis.

On how he looks back at the tournament: I think, as I said earlier in my mother tongue. We feel short literally by couple of runs here and there. It wasn't that the opposition completely outclassed us. Today was one of those games when Viru batted very well, Gautam played some big shots. Also Warner and Dilshan they chipped in, with quickfire innings. Maybe this game and the Johannesburg game against Bangalore. I thought just those two games that we were beaten completely in all aspects of the game. But otherwise in the rest of the games, we were very much in the game and just the failure of the crunch moment was a little difficult to digest. You need six runs off nine balls, it's hard to imagine that you can lose from there. Such things have happened, also the biggest blow was after the first six games, we lost three players from the playing XI. We lost Zaheer Khan and Shikhar Dhawan, we had traded both of them. We lost them after six games. Also Saurabh Tiwary, he played a practice game, and he had really played well. I was pretty confident that he would come in and play some big shots. That sort of disturbed the balance I think.

On whether it was difficult to motivate the team: I don't think it was difficult, we all play for pride. And we all cricketers want to go out there and win each and every match. It really does not matter at what stage you are playing and against whom you are playing. We play for Mumbai Indians, and it is a team from Mumbai, we take pride in representing that team. The owners, Mr and Mrs Ambani, both have been extremely supportive. They have always sent their best wishes, infact Mrs Ambani was here also to watch most of the matches. So when you have a team like that nobody loses motivation. We were all motivated to go out there and win. Till the last ball is bowled, we were very much trying to win the game.

On Delhi Dardevils' approach: Well, in this format, you take chances and score runs. Sometimes those chances taken are at a vital period of the game. You lose a wicket, instead of a big six it could be caught at long-on or caught at long-off, the game changes. It is a lot to do with that as well. Without any doubt Delhi Daredevils have really really played well. Their batting looks pretty solid, the bowling is also balanced. So all in all, I think it is a very strong side and one will have to be on the top of their game to beat them. On Nannes and Nehra: Both have struck early on. It's the early wickets, puts the brakes on acceleration. And they have managed to do that.

On whether he enjoyed captaincy: It's been good, it's been tough. There have been times when you can't do much. If we were batting, and we have got...that match against Rajasthan Royals, I just could not do anything. I was sitting inside. In fielding you can atleast go upto the bowler or the fielder and discuss a few things and try and bring that change. But otherwise I am just like any other player, the guys who are there in the middle, couple of guys, batters. I cannot play for them, neither can they play for me. There comes a stage when every individual has to go and deliver. We have been inconsistent in doing that.

On the fifth foreign player: I don't know at this stage...I am not really thinking about that. But I maybe it is something which could be discussed. And it is decision taken by the franchises more than the players. Even when it was decided that the four players should be included, it wasn't our decision.

On Delhi Daredevils being favourties: So far Delhi Daredevils have done really really well. But in this format, the opposition needs just one good break, good solid 20 overs and that can put a lot of pressure on them. So far they have really done well, they have consistently done well.

On the plusses and minuses of playing in South Africa: I don't see any minuses at all. Only pluses, the kind of response we have got has been fantastic, very warm, the crowds, have been very lively, they have been right in the game all the time, you could feel, the crowds have come to enjoy good quality cricket. That is something that a sportsman looks forward to, we have thoroughly enjoyed playing here. The support, the atmosphere, the life inside the stadium, the energy, it's been truly fantastic. I would like to thank everyone for their support.

It will be a great semifinal against Daredevils: Lehmann

CENTURION: Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann was at his witty best after his side's 12-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the DLF Indian Premier League here on Thursday. The Australian said his team was keen to take on the table toppers Delhi Daredevils in the semifinal on Friday.

Excerpts from the media conference:

On Manish Pandey's hundred: It was a very good hundred. Probably should not have got a hundred (he laughs). He should have got out on naught or may be two but I think our fast bowler helped him. One cannot drop catches in this form of the game. It is great to see a youngster bat that well. I think he played according to the conditions. That is the bravery of Twenty20 cricket. It is great to watch somebody plays like that.

On youngsters benefitting from IPL: I think a lot of young Indian cricketers will benefit by the tournament. Today it was Manish Pandey and there have been quite a few youngsters. It is great. It is always good to see young guys playing hard and their resurgence.

On Deccan Chargers' bowlers: I am a little bit concerned about our bowling. I think we batted quite well. I think we gave away 20 or 30 more runs than we would have thought. I think we should bowl better. But it is great to be in the semifinals. And there is a big game.

On depending too much on Rohit Sharma: I think Herschelle Gibbs played really well. We had our chances in the game and it cannot be really one person every time. Andrew Symonds was our man tonight that he probably played a bad shot which he should have checked. But overall I think we chased well.

On what went wrong: We started the chase well but lost our way in the middle. We will go back and analyze what went wrong and hopefully when we come back on Friday, we will put up a better show.

On Dwayne Smith: There is always a temptation to play him. He has been a match-winner for us and it is always a tough call.

On facing Delhi Daredevils in semifinal: I think it is a great feeling to be in the semifinal. And now we will play against the best side - Delhi Daredevils. It would be a great game of cricket.

On playing back-to-back matches: We played back-to-back matches last week too, didn't we? We are just thinking about Friday's game and that is it.

On youngsters in Deccan Chargers: We have tried a lot of young guys. We are happy with our progress. It is a little difficult to get the right balance but that is how it is. I think it all depends upon BCCI and IPL. It is their call on the cap on overseas players. Personally, it does not matter to me much.

Semifinal Sneak Preview: Delhi Daredevils vs. Deccan Chargers

CENTURION: Here's a sneak preview of the first semifinal of the DLF Indian Premier League between Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers here on Friday.

What's at stake: Simple, a place in the final and a crack at the DLF Indian Premier League crown on Sunday.

Form guide: Delhi Daredevils have been the side to beat in this competition. They have won 10 of the 14 league games. Deccan Chargers have been pretty up and down with their form and will have to hope that one of their big guns fires against the favourites.

Top guns: For Delhi Daredevils, the good news from Thursday evening is the return to form of both Gautam Gambhir and skipper Virender Sehwag but the key performers with the bat have been AB de Villiers (439 runs) and Tillekeratne Dilshan (353). Dinesh Karthik (279) is another who has been a reliable batsman. On the bowling front, the trio of left arm paceman has been awesome – Ashish Nehra (18), Dirk Nannes (15) and Pradeep Sangwan (15). They have been well supported by Amit Mishra (11) and Rajat Bhatia (10).
For Deccan Chargers, Adam Gilchrist (410 runs), Rohit Sharma (333) and Herschelle Gibbs (318) have been the key batsmen. Of course, Andrew Symonds, who joined the side recently and has played six games is another big player. Among the bowlers, RP Singh (20 wickets) and Pragyan Ojha (15) are vital cogs in the wheel but the side misses the thrust of Fidel Edwards but Rohit, Symonds and T Suman offer the captain choice.

Captain vs. captain: Virender Sehwag has awesome arsenal at his disposal, with the overseas players and the domestic cricketers contributing to make the team the most feared outfit in the event. As skipper, he seems to have so little to do on the field and that is a telling commentary of the quality of the players and their combination. Adam Gilchrist has led by example and has constantly motivate the side to perform to potential. He does not have as potent bowling attack as Sehwag has but he marshals his resources well.

Key battles: The contest between Delhi Daredevils new ball attack [Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes] against the Deecan Chargeers openers [Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs] can be one of the most interesting sub-plots as can the face-off between RP Singh and Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag as well as Gautam Gambir who can force rival captains to scratch his head in search of a way to separate them.

What happened in the league games: Delhi Dardevils won on both occasions.

On April 30 at SuperSport Park in Centurion: Delhi Daredevils won by six wickets, thanks to a scintillating knock by Tillekeratne Dilshan and his partnership with Dinesh Karthik. Earlier, the dismissal of Adam Gilchrist and Gibbs in quick succession added to the woes of the Chargers. Dirk Nannes was the man of the match for bowling 14 dot balls and finishing with amazing figures of 4-0-16-2.

On May 14 at Kingsmead in Durban: Deccan Chargers allowed Delhi Daredevils to escape from jail and win by 12 runs. Rajat Bhatia pulled the rug from under Deccan Chargers' feet by claiming four for 14 in ten deliveries in the 18th and final overs of the match. Delhi Daredevils' other heroes were Dinesh Karthik with the bat and Pradeep Sangwan with the ball after Adam Gilchrist threatened to single-handedly win the game for Deccan Chargers.