Indian Premier League: Delhi Daredevils Just Short on Luck, Says Imran Tahir

Despite 11 losses in a row for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, spinner Imran Tahir feels the team was playing good cricket and will end up on the winning side very soon.

Even after posting a challenging 184 for three, the Jean-Paul Duminy-led side were beaten by Rajasthan Royals by three wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla today to lose their second close match of the season.

Delhi's South African import Tahir, who bagged four wickets in the match, said his side were just unlucky and a win is not far away.

"We were in a good position, I don't know where we went wrong. It is such a small target in T20 cricket, you can see even the guys coming at number nine and 10 can bat. I think it was a great team effort by them. They really played well. From us we have just been a little short on luck," he said at the post-match press conference.

"In this game and the previous one we proved that we have played really good cricket but it's been a small margin of loss. We are hoping for good results. I know my comments may not justify the 11 straight losses but we are truly happy with the way we played," said Tahir.

Delhi lost their opening match to Chennai Super Kings by a single run but Tahir insisted that it's just a matter of time before they get into winning ways and praised RR for playing a good game.

"We are not lacking in confidence because of the losses. We are playing good cricket, may be just short of luck. Our aim is to get two points and I am sure with the way we are playing, we are going to get them soon. And a win certainly will make a big difference and make us more confident," Tahir said.

"If the last ball had given just a single run then I would have given different comments now. In professional cricket everybody wants to win. But on this day, they played good cricket and deserved to win," he said.

Man-of-the-match Deepak Hooda stroked a match-winning 25-ball 54 but was lucky to escape a dropped chance and a missed run out. Tahir rued the misses but said it's part and parcel of the game.

"I think those two opportunities really cost us. If we would have latched on to them then the result would have been different. But I take nothing away from their win and Hooda's performance. He took the opportunity and all credit goes to him and he turned the game around. Well done to him," said Tahir.

If Tahir was the strike force then Amit Mishra was not far behind after picking up two crucial scalps. The two leggies have worked well in tandem and Tahir was all praise for his spin partner.

"I am enjoying the experience of working with Mishra. For me he is a world class spinner. We talk a lot with each other. Be it variations in spin or anything else, we discuss it all. It's easy for me when he is bowling at the other end. In the two games he has bowled well and it has given me confidence to do well and that's key," he said.

"I have bowled with another leg-spinner in county cricket - Shahid Afridi. But he is a totally different bowler than Mishra. I have a lot of respect for Mishra and I am loving it," said the South African.

It looked at one point that Tahir would single-handedly spin Delhi to a win but it was not to be. The Pakistan-born player believed that such moments are part of a cricketer's life.

"I tried my best. I sure everyone in our team did that. Losses are always hard to swallow and every sportsperson has the same feeling. I promise things will change for us. We just need to be confident and back ourselves," he said.

In the absence of senior pacers like Zaheer khan and Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat took a bit of a stick but Tahir back the young bowler and many such youngsters in the side.

"It is hard to pick on young Jaydev Unadkat. He gave us a good start today. Yes, if you have Shami and Zaheer in a side, you will always benefit from their experience. We are all waiting for them to come back and they are also working very hard. But at the moment we just need to back our youngsters and the available XI we have," he concluded.