After Delhi Capitals (DC) registered their first win of the season on Sunday night following the two back-to-back losses, fast bowler Khaleel, who was named Player of the Match, credited domestic cricket for his match-winning performance against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Half-centuries from David Warner (52 off 35 balls) and Rishabh Pant (51 off 32 balls) helped Delhi Capitals to post 191/5 in their 20 overs. Chasing 192, CSK’s reply got off to a shaky start with Khaleel getting copious movement early on. In the powerplay, the left-arm pacer had bowled three overs and scalped two wickets for only nine runs. He returned with the figures of 2-22 in his four-over quota and was named Player of the Match.
Reflecting on his performance against CSK, Khaleel said, "I was waiting for a long time to perform for the team. When I started, I realised I was getting good swing, so I just backed it up and didn't allow the opposition any chance."
Khaleel featured in six Ranji Trophy matches this season for Rajasthan, taking 14 wickets with the best bowling figures of 4/19 against Maharashtra.
He added, "The more you play, the more you understand your game. The same happened with me as I have been playing continuously for six months, I got to understand my game plans, my body and managing to play in small niggles. It all came due to the domestic season, it gave me good confidence before coming into the IPL and it's been a great feeling."
Speaking about the importance of the win, the 26-year-old said, "When you lose back-to-back matches, you feel bad. To be honest, there's a lot of happiness due to this win.
"When you win, it gives you good momentum, the win makes you understand the good aspects of your game and how you can learn. This win gave us a lot of answers to our questions, and it will make things easier on how to approach our next games," Khaleel concluded.
Delhi Capitals will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match of IPL 2024 at ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
