Gilchrist accepts his part in loss

Nagpur: Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist was prepared to take responsibility for his team's latest defeat to Rajasthan Royals on Monday. Here's more from Gilchrist's interaction with the media after yet another loss at home.

Excerpts:

On whether Rohit Sharma could have won the game for them: No, I don’t sit here and blame [anyone]. I certainly don’t blame Rohit Sharma (who was last man out for 73 in their two-run defeat) He played a wonderful innings, kept us in it when maybe a few other players panicked a little bit or showed signs of panic. So he had a very cool head and then obviously it didn’t quite go [well] in the last bit. Certainly no blame rests with him. He will feel disappointed that he should have closed it out. So would all of us. Again, from the top [we got] starts but not the big scores. It’s good that Rohit went on and converted somewhat but maybe a bit more support would have been the order of the day.

On whether they still think they can reach the semis: Look, very quickly doing the maths, what we have got [is] five games - that’s ten possible points…sixteen (in total)…I guess it’s tight enough [but] that might be good enough. So we will watch with interest the other results, but we have got to make sure that we can’t afford to lose again, it’s as simple as that. But tonight…as I said outside, tonight we had signs of improvements which is good, I thought the bowling effort was very good, batting not too bad but fell away a little bit, but our fielding was disappointing. I think on reflection probably the fielding is again what cost us the match in the end, couple of runs, I think, just the little bits that we…. the standard that we are trying to get to wouldn’t allow us those extra few runs. It is a cliché to say that those little extra bits win matches but that’s reality out there, that they do change matches.

On Shane Warne’s performance and the extent to which the RR captain can influence the game: When you bowl leg-spinners like that you can [have] influence (laughs). Well there is no doubt that he is a fine captain, a fine leader of that team, but he is the best leg-spinner that has ever played the game too and he had that very much on display tonight, so credit to him, he bowled beautifully.

On Warne’s bowling creating panic in the opposition: Yeah, maybe that’s their way, you go back to what you mentioned initially, the aura, the spirit. I have had some pretty fun times standing behind the stumps watching some startled rabbits in the headlights, so, yeah, credit to him, he bowled really well and he led his team extremely well.

On the reason for resting Herschelle Gibbs: Oh that was just to get Dwayne Smith in. We just felt that we needed to bolster the bowling a little bit, the balance of the team. Yeah, very tough call on Herschelle, I think he might have been our leading run-scorer at the time but as everyone knows balancing up…having the right balance of your team is very important and it is difficult to know which overseas [players] to pick and which not to, when you have got options. That was the main reason, it wasn’t anything other than that.

On whether in this edition of the IPL the batsmen are getting impatient or the bowlers smarter, as there are lots of cases of teams being all out within 20 overs: A bit of both. The bowlers are definitely changing their tactics and improving their tactics. I think the captains are getting a little bit more aware of what fields to set, whether that’s the result of what the bowlers are bowling or if that’s leading the bowlers to bowl that variation. But, yeah, it’s interesting, it’s evolving and there is no doubt about it that, in theory, you shouldn’t lose 10 wickets in 20 overs. But pressure, intensity, does a lot of things to the mind, so it’s been interesting to watch, no doubt about it.

On how much responsibility he takes for the performance of the team as he himself is not in good form: Yeah, definitely I am a part of that. I am most definitely a part of why we haven’t fired. I have got some starts, but haven’t gone on to get a big one, so I certainly take some responsibility for that, absolutely.

On the Sania Mirza - Shoaib Malik controversy happening in Hyderabad as the team is based there: (Laughs) I am not touching that, I’m not going there.