CL T20: Our fielding let us down, says stand-in capt Taylor

Durban: Delhi Daredevils captain Ross Taylor blamed their semifinal defeat against Highveld Lions to poor fielding which cost them 25 extra runs. “We let ourselves down in the field,” Taylor said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “We gave 20-25 extra in the field. I felt that the target was definitely gettable, but they bowled really well. Credit to Highveld Lions. But I believe we should have got the 140. We gave it all, but we were not good enough,” a dejected Taylor said. Asked about the way forward, he said, “We have IPL coming up in a few months, hopefully, we can learn from these mistakes.” [caption id=“attachment_503272” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Delhi Daredevils captain Ross Taylor blamed their semifinal defeat against Highveld Lions to poor fielding which cost them 25 extra runs. AFP[/caption] Winning captain Alviro Petersen lauded his bowlers especially fast bowler Chris Morris. “The bowling was spot on today,” said Petersen. “We needed our guys to go up that 10 percent extra, and they did.” “Chris Morris was special. We needed one of our three fast bowlers to come to the party in the Powerplay, and he did.” The skipper also lavished praise on veteran Neil McKenzie, who won the Man-of-the-Match award. “Neil’s experience was vital. Gulam played a nice innings too. Batting wise, we can improve, but we did well today.” On the final at their home ground, he said,“We love to play at Wanderers. We will celebrate tonight, and tomorrow, but we will be on the button come Sunday.” McKenzie on his part credited Bodi and Alviro for setting up a good platform. “The guys did really well up front,” said McKenzie. “Bodi and Alviro set up a good platform. I just came out and pushed around. We were about 10 short, but the bowlers fired on all cylinders tonight. “We needed to hit our four-day lengths on this wicket, and that’s what we did. All the bowlers deserve the Man of the Match as a unit. No preference who plays us in the final, best of the luck to the Titans and the Sixers.” PTI