Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag says the presence of Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene in the line-up gives him the freedom to go for his shots at the start of innings.
“We’ve international class and the team has been boosted by the return of KP and Mahela. As a result of that, I can play freely. I know that they are there in the line-up,” Sehwag said after leading his team to an eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
Sehwag praised the bowlers, especially left-arm spinners Roelof van der Merwe and Shahbaz Nadeem.
“Our bowlers did a fantastic job, started off really well upfront and the left-arm spinners took off from there,” he said.
Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded they are not playing good cricket.
“We are not playing good cricket. We have to be more consistent and look to play good cricket,” Dhoni said.
“We posted a below par score. The wicket behaved well in the second half. We were looking to have a left and right hand combination but the run-outs never let us get that right,” he added.
Dhoni further said, “one more aspect is that games such as these test the character of the side.”
Man of the match Morne Morkel, while complimenting the groundsmen, felt that it was important to win the team’s first home game.
“It was a home game for us and we got off to a good start. The groundsman have to be complimented for putting up a good wicket. I was under pressure to bowl to a power house of Chennai’s batting line-up.”
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl-2012/news/Pietersen-Mahelas-presence-gives-me-freedom-to-play-freely-Virender-Sehwag/articleshow/12617399.cms