Mohammad Kaif, former India batsman and currently the assistant coach of Delhi Capitals franchise, said his team must improve their consistency while chasing targets if they are to tick another important box going into the business end of the IPL 2020 in UAE.
DC currently stand at the top of the points table with seven wins in nine games. But among those two losses, one was while chasing against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). There is cause for optimism there too, however, with the win in the previous game versus Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coming batting second.
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"We are very happy at the moment because in the first game that we chased, we lost against SRH. We couldn't chase their target of about 160, but against CSK it was good, because it was a tough task to chase," said Kaif on the eve of his team's next match on Tuesday (October 20) in Dubai with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), as quoted by PTI.
"We were not chasing well so far in this tournament we were a defending kind of team. Our bowlers have done well so far."
"To win a tournament like IPL, you have to be all-round performers. If you bat first, you have to put runs on the board, which we have been doing in this tournament. But if you bat second, you should be able to chase down the target."
"That's the strength of the team and we want to achieve that kind of target you know, so that when we are put in to bowl first and chase a target, we should be able to do it," he added.
While chasing is a work-in-progress, Kaif is pleased with the way DC have stood up against different challenges along the way, with their bench-strength also tested following injuries and yet, the team has been winning consistently.
"We have some experienced players in the squad and have good bench strength of course we were a bit unlucky with some big injuries. But overall we have a squad to go all the way and so far we have done well."
"All the players have been fantastic for us, and it's actually a great headache for the opponents. They would think how to plan against DC, who have got so many match-winners in their squad to really contain and beat us on the day."
One of the positives in the last few games has been the revival of opener Shikhar Dhawan who, after struggling initially in the tournament, has now had consecutive fifty-plus scores, including a ton in the victory over CSK.
"It was good to see Shikhar — the way he batted, and he had been doing so well in the whole tournament, but was getting 20s, 30s every single game. So it was good to see him also getting his first hundred in the IPL," said Kaif.
Kaif realises it's important for DC to not rest on their performances thus far and continue working hard.
"We're not looking at the team in front of us and are just approaching the matches as they come. We are aiming to take the two points in every match — be it Punjab or any other team. We just want to maintain that winning habit in this tournament that's our challenge."
"Coaches speak to the players about this only, that now we have got the momentum, we don't need to break it. That's why when we try to pick and play our best team out of the players who are available," he signed off.
