Ideally, we would have liked to have come home for Monday’s Deccan Chargers game with a win under our belt. It’s obvious that we are disappointed at having lost a game that we had sewn up when we needed just nine off eight balls.

We lost it from there by the narrowest of margins, and these losses can be heart-breaking.

However, we did gain some positives from that game. First, we did this without two of our top overseas pros in the side. Second, we stretched a strong Chennai Super Kings and played well enough to have got into a winning position.

After the game, team owner Shah Rukh Khan had a word with us, and told us not to be too disappointed since we had played well and this was just the start and there were 13 games left.

Shah Rukh is always a pleasure to have around you because he is a motivator par excellence. I have met him on numerous occasions and he has always been an optimistic and positive person. I remember him celebrating with us when we won the T20 World Cup and I also met him last year at Mukesh Ambani’s house during a party in Sachin Tendulkar’s honour.

On Monday, we take on the Deccan Chargers, a strong team that has quite a few match-winners and a bowling attack that boasts Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma.

However, there’s no point thinking of their strengths, and it’s better to focus on our strong points and our game plan. KKR won five of its seven home games last year and we would like to continue that trend this time as well.

Players do carry memories of past performances on various grounds and I have fond memories of the Eden Gardens. I scored a century in an ODI in December 2009 and it was an innings I have wonderful memories of.

Eden Gardens is a ground that is synonymous with Sourav Ganguly. As his teammate and also later whenever we have met, it’s always been a pleasure to talk to Sourav and pick his brains on batting, especially since he is a southpaw like me.

I have never had a cricketing idol in my growing years -- Shahid Bhagat Singh has always been my idol and inspiration -- but it has always been a privilege to share time and notes with a senior like Sourav.

Coming back to Monday’s game, we have executed some plans well, but areas like fielding and catching would need to improve. I had decided to bat down the order because we felt that Jacques Kallis and I should not bat together, and that if he had got dismissed early, I would come in. It did not work and we will need to revisit that strategy before the game.

Gameplan