Ajinkya Rahane starred with the bat as Delhi Capitals defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore, on Monday, but the right-handed batsman has revealed that he was disheartened to not get a game in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Rahane has smashed 3931 IPL runs in 146 games. Despite the stellar record, the right-handed batsman played only six games for Delhi Capitals in the 13th edition of IPL.
Chasing 153, Shikhar Dhawan and Rahane started with the bat for Delhi as both batsmen played knocks of 54 and 60 respectively. Rahane, who anchored the chase for Delhi, got out when his side required 18 more runs.
"Was disappointed when I didn't get to play. Felt good after contributing to the team's win and enjoyed batting with you (Dhawan). The way you batted I learned a lot," Rahane told teammate Dhawan during a chat for IPLT20.com.
Rahane had opened in the last match but head coach Ricky Ponting had told him to bat at number three before the game.
"Ricky told me that I am going to bat at number three and I felt that a good opportunity is there. As a player, if you contribute in the crunch situations you feel good and when the team wins the joy doubles," he added.
"We weren't thinking about any target. It was all about playing proper cricketing shots. I wanted to finish the game. We all know how funny the sport is. We've seen how things have happened in this IPL. Feels great to win in the end," he added.
With this win, Delhi will now play against Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier and the winner of that match will qualify directly for the finals.
