Johanesburg, May 19: With his side having qualified for the knock-out stage without himself not contributing much with the bat, Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag now wants to get among the runs ahead of the semi-finals of the IPL.
“We did not get to a good start as I and Gautam (Gambhir) got out early. But AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan batted really well to take us to 150,” Sehwag said after his side’s 14-run victory over Rajasthan Royals yesterday.
Virender Sehwag walks back after making just two against the Rajasthan Royals in Bloemfontein yesterday.
“Now I want to get among runs before the semi-finals. That would be great for the team,” he added.
Sehwag also patted his bowlers who produced a clinical performance to tie Rajasthan down to 136 for nine.
“Amit (Mishra), (Ashish) Nehra and others bowled well after the hard work done by de Villiers, Dilshan and Karthik. I am happy we won the match. We wanted to build a winning momentum before the semi-finals,” he said.
Rajasthan captain Shane Warne rued his side could not get off to a good start in their run chase.
“We did not hold a few catches and probably chased 15 runs more. But I thought if we got to a good start we would chase down 150. We did not do that and that has been happening all through the tournament,” Warne said.
He, however, defended his pacer Munaf Patel who gave away 25 runs in the penultimate over, saying: “Munaf bowled a fantastic over in the match against Mumbai. This can happen in Twenty20 cricket, it’s part and parcel of the game.”
Earlier, Daredevils lost Sehwag and Gambhir early but de Villiers made sure the innings did not falter.
The South African hit a 55-ball 79 not out for his third half-century of the tournament.
South African Johan Botha top-scored with 37 in a below-par Rajasthan’s batting performance. Ravinder Jadeja (24) and last-man Munaf Patel (23 not out) were the other notable contributors.
–PTI