South African pacer Anrich Nortje wants to replicate his last year’s performance when the IPL resumes in the UAE to help Delhi Capitals win their maiden title.

Nortje, who picked 22 wickets in 16 matches in his first-ever IPL season in 2020, played an instrumental role in helping DC reach its maiden IPL final, where they lost to Mumbai Indians.

The Capitals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday in the opening match of the second phase.

“It was here where things started to happen for me in the IPL, but I am looking to take it match by match this season. There’s a lot coming up, even after the IPL,” he was quoted as saying in a media release.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni at practice. Pictures courtesy Twitter

“We have to try and remember what we did here the last time we were here and try and implement that again,” said the 27-year-old.

“What worked at one place is not going to work at another place so we have to take it game by game. The upcoming games in the UAE are going to be completely different from the games we had earlier in the season.

“Maybe teams will field different strategies in the second half of the tournament. We have to be switched on now and just be ready,” Nortje said.

He feels playing in the IPL before the T20 World Cup in the UAE is certainly going to be a big advantage.

KKR’s Shubman Gill during training sessions. Pictures courtesy Twitter

“It’s definitely a massive advantage to play the IPL before the T20 World Cup. We have a chance to acclimatise to the conditions and get first-hand experience of the kind of wickets here in the UAE.”