DC vs CSK Highlights, IPL 2021 Qualifier 1: Uthappa, Gaikwad, Dhoni take Chennai Super Kings to their 9th IPL final

(Thinking before a big game) It's just normal. Just go through normal routines whatever you have been following throughout the tournament and just try and stay neutral. Each and every game you start from 0, so it's important to start again and start fresh and be up for a challenge whatever it is. Powerplay was a crucial stage and the wicket was holding a little bit. We had to get off to a good start. Robin batted really well, he took on the bowlers and it got a little bit easier for me to stay till the end and bat throughout the innings. At times, you have to take the odd risk. I plan for 2-3 overs, think of who is likely to bowl and who I can target, big-short boundary, who I can target better. You have to be crystal clear, go through the process, take one over at a time and ensure that the required rate doesn't go up too much and take it deep. Every time, Dhoni tries to encourage me and start afresh every game. Learn from every game and move forward. He said to try and finish the game. It is what separates good players from normal players. I am just looking to learn as much as possible till he is here and stay humble.

It was a crucial innings. They were using the bigger boundary very well. Nothing special, just watch the ball and hit the ball. I haven't done a lot in the tournament. So you want to get that out of the system. If you are batting well in the nets, just look for the ball, what are the variations, where the bowler could bowl. Other than that there was nothing much in the mind. If there are too many things floating around, it becomes difficult to watch the ball. We are one side that hasn't done that a lot (about sending others over Jadeja). Even with Deepak we bat till 9. With the way Shardul has been batting recently or even Deepak, both can contribute. When a batsman goes in, he will think twice before hitting the first ball for a boundary, but if a Shardul or a Deepak goes in, they can look to get a boundary from the first ball. And even they get one or two hits away, it could be a big impact because the run difference is only 15-20 runs. He (Uthappa) is somebody who likes to bat up the order. Mo has done very well for us at 3. So we have left it open. Whoever gets out, one of you will bat at 3. We have just left it to god how we decide that (smiles). We have to (leave it to god) because we can't decide. Depends on which opener gets out against which opposition we are playing. I had a conversation with him (Ruturaj) after one of the games. It was around why should an opener bat only till the 10th over. Why not till the 18th over. He is somebody who plays authentic shots. He is a good talent. It's the full team. It was tough when we didn't qualify last time. Emotions were high. Credit goes to the support staff and everyone in the team.

Obviously it's very disappointing, don't have enough words to describe how we are feeling right now. The only thing we can do is rectify our mistakes and move on to the next one. I thought that Tom bowled beautifully throughout the match, last over unfortunately went for runs. I thought the bowler who is having a great day, it's better to use him for the last over. I thought the score was decent but they got off to a flier in the powerplay and we didn't get enough wickets and that was the main difference. As a cricketer, we are going to rectify our mistakes, gonna learn from it and move on to the next one. Hopefully we can win and play the final.