Morkel kept Delhi in the game till the last ball, but could only hit a four when six were needed for the victory. (IPL)
Delhi Daredevils' loss in their opening Pepsi IPL 2015 match continued an unhappy trend that has taken root for the franchise. Of the last 33 matches they have played in the Twenty20 league, they have lost 28. Against Chennai Super Kings on Thursday (April 9) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Albie Morkel gave the side some hope with an unbeaten 73 off 55 balls, but the lack of partnerships and significant scores from other batsmen meant the Super Kings squeezed through by one run.
Morkel kept Delhi in the game till the last ball, but could only hit a four when six were needed for the victory. However, he felt the only downside for the team was the failure to keep partnerships going. "The only negative we had from the game was we didn't get a partnership going," he said on Friday. "At least one big partnership and one or two decent ones but we never got that going, that's something we can work on. I am sure we'll rectify that in the tournament."
Delhi was chasing a modest 151 for victory, but Ashish Nehra nipped out Mayank Agarwal (15), CM Gautam (4) and Shreyas Iyer (7) to reduce the side to 39 for 3. Morkel and Kedar Jadhav (20) then did the rebuilding job and added 48 runs for the fourth wicket in 8.1 overs to keep things moving. It came down to 49 runs needed off the last five overs with two set batsmen on the crease, but once Jadhav was dismissed, Chennai clawed their way back in the game with the important wickets of Yuvraj Singh and JP Duminy.
Morkel held his end up and with 19 needed off the last over, he struck two fours, a six but failed to get his team over the line and felt Chennai fielded really well to save some runs. "Look when you need 19 of the last over, you know you have to hit three boundaries," Morkel said about the last over. "You also want to hit that first up and I got that lucky four first ball, then a two and a six, so we were in the game. Last ball I hit is so well but just a bit flat and it was almost a six. I knew I had hit it well and I knew from the start it might fall short by a metre or so.
"CSK fielded really well, they saved a lot of runs in the field, but you always think you could have done something better."
Morkel, who was sent in at No. 3, had to curb his instincts and build the innings with wickets tumbling at the other end. The allrounder also acknowledged that though he enjoys his pinch-hitting role, he loved batting at the top of the order.
"I really enjoyed it," he said. "Normally batting down at six or seven, you only get a few balls to go and play. It's nice to have the luxury to go and build an innings. I also like to do that aggressive pinch-hitting role but we kept on losing wickets and that role changed after we lost three wickets.
"We were well in command of the game after 13 overs, just unfortunate that we couldn't get a partnership going towards the end."
Morkel, who is now the most capped Twenty20 played in the world with 268 matches under his belt, said he has enjoyed being with the Delhi team so far and the team is showing some good signs this year. "It has been very nice. Not only the first game but also leading up to the first game," said Morkel. "The group of guys that we have here, the coaches, the support staff, it's a real good environment to be part of.
"Obviously, a win yesterday would have been better for us but I think we showed some good signs and certainly looking forward to the rest of the tournament."
Delhi will now play a home game against the Rajasthan Royals at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Sunday.
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