With an eye towards keeping their momentum going, Delhi Capitals (DC) take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Sharjah this Friday (October 9) and their pacer Harshal Patel is mentally preparing himself for a high-scoring encounter, where the margin of error for bowlers will be just as small as the ground's notoriously short boundary sizes.
Patel, who has already played a game at the venue this Indian Premier League (IPL) season, talked about his plans to counter the threat that the likes of Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Sanju Samson & co will pose at him and fellow DC pacers and spinners.
"Whenever you're playing in a high-scoring game, you just have to be on top of your game for all the 24 balls that you bowl," he said in a release issued by Delhi Capitals.
"The margin of error is very little, and at the same time, you know that it's going to be a high-scoring game so that does take a little bit of pressure off you because you know everybody's going to go for runs."
"So you can be a little more relaxed in terms of your approach towards the game and just focus on executing whatever the batsman does - if he hits you off a good length, then you just have to accept that and move on," Patel added.
"I think every team in the IPL is extremely competitive, and that's why the quality of cricket is unparalleled. So when it comes to players like Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, or (Sanju) Samson, you just have to focus on executing your skill. You do the planning in your team meetings, and when you get onto the field it's all about execution."
Patel assessed his personal performances in the two games he has played so far, taking 2/34 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Sharjah only but then proving quite expensive in relatively better conditions for a quick like him, conceding 0/43 versus Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
"It has been on par, to be honest," he said. "Last match I felt I could have executed and planned a little better. But these things are part and parcel of the game, and you do get better as you keep playing."
"So, I'm hopeful I'm going to rectify those mistakes of the last game and continue to deliver the performances that I expect out of myself," added the 29-year-old, who faced an injury setback last IPL season.
Patel also said despite their current standing in the league, DC players aren't taking anything for granted and are pushing themselves hard for constant improvement. They currently sit second in the points table with four wins and a loss.
"We're just talking about how we can get better even though the last game we put on quite a clinical performance but the conversation has always been around what else we can do to get better, what else we can do to close out the small mistakes that we're making."
"We just want to get better as the tournament progresses. Everyone who's been around in the IPL knows that the second half of IPL is one of the most difficult parts of the tournament."
"So we don't want to get complacent, don't want to relax we just want to keep our focus and try to get better by putting in the efforts," he concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)
