Delhi Capitals continued their fine form in the Indian Premier League, defeating Chennai Super Kings by 3 wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Monday.
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Delhi Capitals moved to the top of the VIVO IPL 2021 table after clinching an incredible three-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Monday. Delhi’s bowlers restricted Super Kings to 136/5 in their 20 overs before the batsmen wrapped up the thrilling chase in 19.4 overs. Middle-order batsman Ripal Patel made his IPL debut against the Chennai Super Kings. He was thrilled about the fact that MS Dhoni saw him bat from behind the stumps.
“It was a different feeling altogether to see Mahi bhai behind the stumps when I took guard. It felt really good that Mahi bhai was watching me play. I started playing cricket watching Mahi bhai and I am looking to become a finisher like him. After the game, I asked him how he finishes every match, how he thinks on the field and what goes on in his mind while chasing a score. We had a good chat and he gave me a lot of confidence,” he was quoted as saying by Delhi Capitals’ website.
Asked about his emotions when he received the Delhi Capitals’ cap before the game, he said “I was really happy when I received my cap from Mishy bhai. It didn’t feel like it was my first match. I felt really good going into the match. I just looked to back myself and enjoy every part of the game.”
The 26-year-old, who scored an important 18 runs off 20 balls in the match, said that he looked to take his time at the crease. He added: “When I went into bat (at 71/3), we needed to score at a run-a-ball pace. I aimed to finish the match for the team. Shikhar bhai told me to take my time at the crease, so I took my time and enjoyed my batting.”
Ripal was also happy to see Kagiso Rabada finish the match with a boundary in the last over. “It was very important for us to win the match. It was a crunch situation when we needed 2 runs from 3 balls. We were looking for a couple of runs and it was great to see Rabada hit a boundary. I was disappointed that I didn’t finish the match, but it was great that the team won the match and reached 20 points,” he said.
Pacer Anrich Nortje had recently described his experience of working with head coach Ricky Ponting in a positive way. Nortje said, “It’s great having Ricky Ponting in our camp. I love his chats and he breaks things down very nicely and makes everything easy to understand. He’s quite clear on what he wants. I am trying to learn as much as possible from him. We enjoy working with him and hopefully, we can grow as a unit with him.”
When asked if he has shared some tricks of the trade with young fast bowler Avesh Khan, the South African said, “Some of us have been looking at how Avesh is landing his yorkers and how he has been going about things. He has been so good for us. It was especially nice to see him land his yorkers in the first half of the season in India. It’s been so nice to see him progress as a bowler. All in all, he has got a lot of skill and I think he has got a bright future ahead of him.”
