Delhi Daredevils all-rounder Harshal Patel explained how his teammates had a plan in place to nullify Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni's threat here on Friday night. The plan worked superbly as Dhoni, who has 430 runs so far this season, was able to make only 17 from 23 balls as the hosts registered a 34-run victory against the high-flying visitors.
"We all knew what he can do and we knew what his strong zones were. So the plan was not to get hit in his strong zone. We wanted him to hit in areas that he is not really comfortable. So we came up with a plan to bowl slow and wide and executed it really well," said Man of the Match Harshal Patel during the post-match press conference on Friday.
He said the preferable option is Feroz Shah Kotla wicket was chasing a target.
"I think it is always preferable to chase on this ground and the history says that while chasing in the second innings the wicket plays lot better so it was a tough toss to lose but we can't do anything about it," he said.
Patel agreed that the 162 total was not enough to guarantee them a victory, but they stuck to their plans which helped them seal a morale-boosting win.
"I think defending on this ground is always difficult but at the same time if you have your plans and stick to it then more often than not you are going to succeed. So 162 was definitely not a winning total but we knew that if we had good energy on the field then, if we field really well and stick to our plans execute well then we have a good chance of winning it."
He added, "Even in the second innings when the dew came on, the wicket didn't get a lot better, which it did in the last two games. So it was not coming onto bat. We decided that in the last two games, we had bowled too fast and too full. So we decided we don't want to repeat that mistake, but stick to what we do best and hope for the best.
He concluded by saying that Daredevils would be going for a win in their last game of the season against Mumbai Indians on Sunday.