You always want a game to be played because sharing of points is not the best way forward, but when it rains, you cannot do much about it. The point against the Chennai Super Kings did help us get into the top four, but so tightly coupled are the teams in the points table that for now it does not matter too much.
What matters is that we take each game, one at a time, and try winning every one of them, so that we do not have to make a dash for it towards the end of the tournament. At this stage, with the Deccan Chargers also registering a win yesterday, any of the teams can claw into the playoffs and it is imperative we do not drop the intensity.
But coming back to the inclement weather, it gives us a chance to interact with the opposition players, something that we do not, otherwise get a chance to do. And speaking about my own health, I am fine to go after what I think it was the case of heat affecting me in the Rajasthan game.
We take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in our next match, a team I played for in the earlier seasons. Of course it has undergone a sea change and it will be interesting to play them in their own backyard. Eden Gardens is one of the most impressive grounds in the world and while, like the team, it has also changed around since the first couple of editions of the tournament, it will still be an exciting place to play cricket.
Kolkata will be a big game. They have some class players around in the squad, with Jacques Kallis, Gautam Gambhir, Brett Lee and Brendon McCullum being some to look out for. Of course, Yusuf Pathan can fire at any time and with Sunil Narine doing so well for them as well, things could get close.
I have played against Narine back in the Caribbean and he has come on really well in the last couple of years. He has picked up a lot of wickets with his mystery spinners and that bodes well for West Indian cricket too. The track at Eden Gardens should assist the slow bowlers and Narine's spell will be a vital one.
Our job will be to plan well and then execute those as closely as it is possible. Ray Jennings has been an excellent strategist for us for some seasons now and has helped the side mould into something of a real unit.
- Chris Gayle