New Delhi: Terming it to be a loss that will hurt them in this tournament, Rahul Dravid said that Rajasthan Royals had the match in their grip but somehow left it too late. In all praise for Ajinkya Rahane, the Rajasthan Royals skipper said that the youngster has been batting brilliantly and his form will definitely attract the attention of the selctors.

“I think we were in the game till the 38th over and losing it like this will definitely hurt us in this tournament. Morkel bowled an excellent over. Nevertheless I am proud of my team. We don’t have big names as others but they are fighting hard. They would have gained a lot from winning the game. We need to pick up our game and play Delhi again. Rahane batted brilliantly. He has been out of the Indian team and will look to score tons and tons of runs to grab the attention of the selectors,” said Dravid.

Rajasthan Royals lost the match by one run to Delhi Daredevils who had nearly given up until the penultimate over where Morkel bombarded the batsmen with his Yorkers and that turned the table in Delhi’s favour.

Ecstatic about the win Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag credited the win to his bowlers, especially Morkel. “Our bowlers did an excellent job. Morkel bowled brilliantly. I asked him to be free and bowl with freedom. I also thought we were losing this when they needed 14 off two, but superb bowling from the Morkel and Umesh Yadav won us the game,” said Sehwag, who was also adjudged the man-of-the-match for his superb knock.

“I think I am loving this format, trying to bat through the first half of the innings and then take it on.”