I was desperate to win the toss in our last game against Hyderabad. We wanted to continue on the pattern of chasing and with rain in the Kolkata air we wanted to be on the right side of Duckworth-Lewis Method. Therefore the plan was to win the toss and bowl. Such was my anxiety that I tried to trick David Warner by concealing the coin! I hope you know what I mean. There is a general belief that if you flip the coin with ‘Heads’ on top then it will land ‘Tails’ and vice-versa. I don’t know if science endorses this theory but I can tell you that there are plenty of cricketers I know who swear by it...yours truly included.
So here I was loaded with this theory and nervousness of a captain edgy for a berth in playoffs ready to flip the coin. Well, almost. I thought I had flipped the coin in the air but in the commotion of concealing it from Warner I had dropped it. I was embarrassed and promptly gave up the idea of being cheeky. Once again I lost the toss and KKR was put into bat. A bad start, I thought to myself. But that notion was immediately dumped. I summoned words of my mom. Very early in my life she gave me a lesson. She’d say, it is not about how you start but about how you finish. And KKR finished really well beating Hyderabad and winning the right to be in the playoffs.
Before I go on to put into perspective the innings played by Yusuf Pathan let me share something else. I was extremely pleased with the way young Kuldeep Yadav bowled. He is in a tough business of bowling left-arm chinaman. Unlike orthodox spinners his margins are pretty slim. To me bowling left-arm chinaman seems like bragging those newly-learnt amateur magical tricks at a family get-together. They look brilliant when they come off but can get awfully embarrassing if they don’t. On Sunday Kuldeep’s tricks came off. I was happy to note that a young Indian spinner had the courage to flight the ball. This was only his second game of this IPL season but I have never seen him sulk for not getting a game.
Once again Yusuf put his mature head down and took us to a winning total. I am proud of my man. People keep asking me what has changed in him. The earlier Yusuf was bang, bang and a little more bang. The latest Yusuf is block, bang, bang and if need be one more bang or otherwise he will happily settle for a block. Besides, he is admirably fit as can be seen from his running between the wickets. The other big moment was when Sunil Narine got past Warner. People have different theories on him but to me his control is his biggest strength.
We are leaving for Delhi in batches. I am told that it is raining in the Capital and the temperature is in pleasant mid-30s. I don’t know the forecast for Wednesday. But once again it will be a desperate bid to win the toss whether its rain or sunshine. This being a playoff being played at a neutral venue I am not sure who will flip the coin. Whatever happens I will be up and about with my cheeky little things at the toss whether I am flipping the coin or calling a heads or a tails. I am a desperate captain.
Dinesh Chopra Media