DC skipper Rishabh Pant has said that he wanted to change the pace and so replaced Kuldeep Yadav with pacers before his fourth over after a win against Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets. He also revealed that they want to take just one game at a time and not focus on the points table.
Delhi Capitals registered their fourth win of the IPL 2022 against Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets. DC absolutely dominated the whole contest and outplayed the opponents in all departments. Winning the toss, DC invited KKR to bowl first. Bowlers proved the decision very correct as they reduced the opposition to 146/9 in the first innings. Mustafizur Rehman picked three wickets in his spell but Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets conceding just 14 runs in his spell.
However, surprisingly Kuldeep was given only three overs of his spell. Reflecting on the move, Pant said that he wanted to change the pace of the game.
“I thought we would give him (Kuldeep) his final over from the other end but then the ball kept getting wet and I also wanted to change the pace, that’s why I brought the fast bowlers in but it didn’t work,” Pant said in the post-match presentation.
The chase should have been an easy task for DC and David Warner scored 42 runs from 26 balls. They lost regular wickets from the other end and were reduced to 84/5 at one stage. However, a knock of 24 runs from Axar Patel and unbeaten 33 runs from Rovman Powell, in the end, helped the team cross the finish line. The team won by four wickets and with one over to spare.
Pant revealed that DC lost too many wickets in the middle overs but they were confident that they can pull off the victory by taking the game deep.
“We were thinking (of the wobble) because we lost too many wickets in the middle but at the same time we thought if we take the game deep, we can win it.We see him (Powell) as a finisher but like today when we lost too many wickets, he has to come up and do the job. We are not thinking about the points table and take one game at a time.,” he explained.
Kuldeep was a part of the KKR squad the previous season and he has been breathing fire against them in the IPL 2022. In the DC’s first game against KKR, Kuldeep scalped four wickets for 35 runs. Now in this match also he dismissed four batters taking his count to eight wickets from two matches against KKR. He was awarded Man of the Match for his performance in the game and revealed that he liked Russell’s wicket the most. Kuldeep also shared that he is enjoying his bowling and the focus is on hitting the right line and lengths.
“I might have become a better bowler, but I am mentally stronger than before. When you fail in life you pick what you can improve on and that is something I had to improve. I don’t get scared of failing now. I liked Russell’s wicket as I set him up, it was my plan and when there were a couple of dots I knew he would step out. This is the best IPL season for me. I am enjoying my bowling. I don’t think what the batter will do and what if I get hit. My focus has been to bowl the right line and lengths,” Kuldeep stated.
