Confident of next season: Misbah

24th May 2008

Bangalore Royal Challengers pulled off a surprise win against Chennai Super Kings, the third-placed team in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL), beating them by 14 runs in a recent encounter.

Pakistani cricketer Misbah-ul-Haq said that the win against Chennai is going to hold them in good stead for their final few matches. He added that the win came at a good time as it will help the team gain confidence going into next year's edition of the tournament.

Bangalore are already out of the IPL semi-finals after winning just 3 games from 12 matches.

Asked about how the Twenty20 format of the game differs from one-day internationals and Test cricket, Misbah cited the main differentiating factor was that in Twenty20 you do not have to settle down.

He added that in the compressed format of the game you need to go out and start playing your shots immediately whereas in the other formats you can take your time at the crease.

The Pakistani batsman who 'almost' single-handedly won his side the ICC World Twenty20 last year said it was good that a win came at this stage of the tournament as it would help his team regain some lost momentum, even if it came late in the tournament.

"Performance is a good thing whichever format of the game you're playing. Performance really counts and helps you gain your confidence back," said Misbah.

He concluded by saying that sharing the Bangalore dressing room with players like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Khan, Dale Steyn, etc. was a "great" experience as all the players accounted for a rich wealth of experience within the team.

Misbah, who started playing cricket late in life as compared to most cricketers, has a highest score of 47 in the IPL and will be looking forward to proving his real potential in the final three games Bangalore has to play.

The Bangalore Royal Challengers next face the Deccan Chargers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Hyderabad on May 25.