Momentum will be the key for the Delhi Daredevils and the Kings XI Punjab when the two sides meet in an IPL 2013 encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla Tuesday.
Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene played brilliant innings to help the Daredevils to their first win of IPL 2013 against the Mumbai Indians Sunday.
And Roelof Van Der Merwe believes carrying forward that momentum will be crucial when they face Kings XI, who themselves are coming off the back of a big win against the Pune Warriors.
"The importance (of momentum) is massive, especially in this tournament where there is lot at stake," the South African all-rounder told reporters. "There is the Champions League (T20) and all that.
"The owners put out a lot of money for the players and they expect us to perform and it has got to happen. Momentum ... it is only 16 games, it sounds like a lot but I mean look at us, we have lost six and we are running out of time so momentum now is crucial for us to win two or three on the bounce and then towards the end you never know we might be in with a chance.
"Especially after the kind of season we had last year, after playing in the semifinal, six losses in a row wasn't what we expected and the kind of good players we have it is quite frustrating so to get a win on the board. Sunday night was good for our confidence and you might never know we might still pull through."
Van Der Merwe, who only made his debut this season in the last game, admitted sitting on the sidelines can be a little frustrating at times.
"Yes it is hard being an overseas player, who is not a KP (Kevin Pietersen) and guys who are always going to play," he said. "You sit on the sidelines and you imagine you will get your chance, and you know you got one game to do well otherwise the change will be made.
"It is really frustrating but at the end of the day it is all about the team winning and whoever plays, whether an overseas player or local player, it doesn't matter as far as the team is winning."
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