IPL 9: 82* against Gujarat Lions probably my best knock, says Chris Morris

New Delhi His whirlwind 82 brought Delhi Daredevils agonisingly close to victory and Chris Morris termed it as his best innings in T20 cricket but said it was upsetting to eventually go down by onerun against Gujarat Lions during an IPL match hereComing out to bat at a difficult time with Daredevils tottering at 574 in 104 overs while chasing a challenging 173 Morris blasted 82 off just 32 balls studded with four boundaries and eight sixes He notched up his fifty in just 17 balls the fastest half century of the seasonChris Morris Pic AFPThe South African shared 87 runs for the fifth wicket with countrymate JP Duminy 48 off 43 balls to take Daredevils on the brink of a sensational win before experienced Praveen Kumar and Dwayne Bravo produced brilliant final two overs to restrict Daredevils to 171 for fiveIt probably was my best innings in T20 cricket I could have missed a straight one first ball and looked like an absolute idiot but it was just one of those days for me when Igot going from ball one It was upsetting we lost but tomorrow sun will again come up he said at the postmatch press conference late last nightThere was a lot of pressure We need almost 13 an over when I came out to bat Before I came out to bat I told myself give yourself one or two It was quote obvious what weneeded to do I just played my natural game If the ball is in my zone any day I would have gone after it even if we need five an over Its just the way I play my game Luckily it worked todayMorris said it was a good wicket to bat on and they were targeting short boundaries and not any particular bowler during the chase He also praised Duminy for lending him support from the other endWe targeted the short boundary more than the bowlers Like I said it was quite a good wicket JP Duminy played hell of a knock in terms of rotating the strike and hitting his zones Unfortunately he got out at a vital point of the game Like I said if the ball is in our zone we will go after it no matter who the bowler is he saidDaredevils skipper Zaheer Khans decision to put the opposition in after winning the toss backfired as openers Brendon McCullum 60 off 36 and Dwayne Smith 53 off 30 played explosive knocks before Daredevils bowlers pulled things back to some extent to restrict Gujarat Lions to 172 for sixThe way McCullum and Smith were going at one stage Gujarat were well on course for a 200 plus total But Delhi bowlers especially Imran Tahir 324 and Morris 235 bowled well in the middle overs to keep the total under checkWe were bowling to two of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket to be honest If those two get going you can see what they can do I thought they played beautifully We gave them a few too many loose balls but thats the game of cricket If you could bowl perfect six balls every time then you will be a legend At the end of the day it was quite agood wicket and a serious game of cricket Unfortunately we lost and thats quite upsetting Morris saidMorris also came out in support of his skipper Zaheer who was taken to task by McCullum and Smith yesterday That guy Zaheer is a genius The way Zaks brain works is brilliant It could have been a different day for Zak Zak went for four off the first ball and he induced a nick that went between the keeper and slip fielder When Zak makes a decision I back him 100 per cent Thats the reason he is the captain and thats the reason he has got so many wicketsMorris who turns 29 on Saturday praised the back room combination of Rahul Dravid and Paddy Upton who were so far instrumental in turning Delhis fortunes around this seasonThats the genius of Rahul Dravid and Paddy Upton They give you a lot of space to grow as a person As a cricketer they let you grow as much as possible They give you something to do about They are brilliant togetherMeanwhile Gujarat Lions pacer Praveen Kumar who bowled a sensational penultimate over and conceded just four runs off the 18 needed in the final two overs said he just focussed on bowling to his strengthsThe plan was to bowl as much dot balls as possible to increase the run rate and create pressure on their batsmen My mindset was simple My strength is that I can bowl good Yorkers and thats what was going on in my mind You need to bowl according to your strength and my strength is yorkers said Praveen who gave away just 13 runs from his four overs but without any successOut of the national team reckoning for a while now Praveen accepted that a comeback is in his minds but what is more important for him is to contribute in his sides victoryin any cicket matchI take every match seriously I play normally in every match whether its IPL domestic cricket or a match in my neighbourhood I always try to give my best and contribute inthe teams win Yeah every cricketer thinks of making a comeback but I am satisfied with the fact that I am bowling well and the team is winning he saidAsked why Ravindra Jadeja was not utilised after the leftarm spinner conceded 14 runs in his only over of the match yesterday Praveen said There was plenty of dew in the ground and the fast bowlers were bowling well so our plan was to bowl more with the pacers Spinners were not getting much turn with the ball Even Suresh Raina tried two overs but the ball was skidding more because of dew