Published: May 13, 2017, 12:57 PM (IST)
Edited: May 13, 2017, 01:05 PM (IST)
Delhi Daredevils (DD) had a decent start to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017, as the team won two of their first three games. However, the team then went on a losing spree, going down in next five straight games. The team struggled to find the right combination. Furthermore, skipper Zaheer Khan’s injury and stand-in captain Karun Nair’s poor form did not help them either. The spotlight was on Karun, especially, whose willow had turned quiet since that marathon 303* against England at Chennai in December last year. The franchise, however, kept backing the youngster, who gradually regained his lost mojo as the tournament progressed.
The team too got back to winning ways, having won four of their last five games. The latest of those wins came on Friday evening at home, where DD beat Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) by 7 runs in a close-finish. Karun was adjudged as the Man of the Match for his knock of 45-ball 64 — his first half-century across formats since 303*. Opening the batting, he stayed at the crease till the penultimate over and ensured DD got to a total worth defending. In an interview to iplt20.com/BCCI post-match, Karun opened up on his knock, bad-run, the support from DD, Rahul Dravid et al.
Talking about his own innings, Karun said, “I think at the start we lost a couple of wickets very easily, so for me the simple thing was to play out the 20 overs. I wasn’t thinking about accelerating the score that much at that point. (The idea was) just to play normal cricket and others around me will go after the bowling.”
Karun then opened up on the support he has received from the franchise. “Honestly, the support from the franchise has been great. So we as a team have been thinking about finishing the tournament on a good note and win some games for the franchise. We owe it to them that we win some games,” the 25-year-old batsman said.
Adding to it, Karun also mentioned how Dravid has backed him all this while despite not doing too well and what it means to him. “Rahul sir has obviously been a great inspiration for me. It’s my fourth year in IPL with him. It’s just the support that I have received, even though I haven’t done too well in the first half of the tournament. He’s backed me throughout and has just been great,” he said.
Karun also had a word for Zaheer, under whom this has been his second year in IPL. “It’s my second year with Zak bhai and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. His ideas and plans on the field are completely different. He has a different way of thinking. For me it’s been a great experience just to watch him on the field and learn a lot of things from him,” Karun quipped.
