Delhi Capitals (DC) wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has emphasised the importance of maintaining a must-win mindset as the side prepares for crucial back-to-back home fixtures against the Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at their home ground- the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
DC are currently placed sixth in the points table with three wins and three losses from six matches. They began their campaign with consecutive victories over Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians, before suffering back-to-back defeats against Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings. While they bounced back with an away win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru, a third loss in their campaign in their previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad has left them looking to regain consistency.
“Personally, I always take every game as a must-win game and for me I'm pumped that the next two games are against teams that are sitting very comfortably at 1 and 2 in the table,” Rahul said in a video shared by Star Sports on X ahead of their clash against PBKS.
Highlighting the value of testing themselves against the strongest sides, he added, “So, like I said, you want to challenge yourself against the best teams and for us as a team, I think beating RCB and Chinnaswamy gave us a lot of confidence because they're a really good team.”
Punjab Kings, who currently sit atop the standings, have been one of the standout teams this season, and Rahul acknowledged the challenge they pose. “Punjab right now are playing some exceptional cricket. They seem unbeatable at the moment. So, that's what is challenging and that's what is exciting for us to take it on ourselves to see how we can put pressure on Punjab early in the game and see how we can get two points.”
The wicketkeeper-batter stressed that wins against top teams could significantly boost the squad’s belief and standing. “That will give us tremendous confidence and then from there, we'll go on to RCB and if we can get back-to-back wins, that will obviously give us points and help us sit pretty in the table but also give us that confidence within the group that there's no doubt that we have the skill and we have the talent and we have everything that is required for us to be a champion team,” he said.
Rahul further underlined the importance of translating potential into results. “Only when that translates to performance and victories against good teams, that's when you start feeling confident and you sort of get a little bit of arrogance which you need in today's game and in modern T20 game, you need a bit of arrogance to walk in there telling the opposition that we're too good, we feel like we can beat anybody on a given day or even if we don't have a good day, we'll still beat you.”
The wicketkeeper-batter stressed that wins against top teams could significantly boost the squad’s belief and standing. “That will give us tremendous confidence and then from there, we'll go on to RCB and if we can get back-to-back wins, that will obviously give us points and help us sit pretty in the table but also give us that confidence within the group that there's no doubt that we have the skill and we have the talent and we have everything that is required for us to be a champion team,” he said.
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With Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru occupying the top two spots respectively, Delhi Capitals will be aiming to make the most of their home advantage and climb up the table in what promises to be a defining phase of their campaign.