Darren Lehman is the highest paid coach in the Indian Premier League and not without a reason. From a player who turned out in a solitary game to a successful coach of the Deccan Chargers, the journey has been an eventful ride. Apart from keeping the media in splits and being the ever friendly tourist Lehmann has also proved his value as a hard nosed coach. Lehmann shared his thoughts on the impending final and the IPL in general during the course of this chat with this newspaper.

On the final practice session: It was great to see the boys go at it in full throttle. Must remember they had a game yesterday night. It was more of a recovery session. The team has prepared in the right earnest for every game and the final was no different.

On the final: It is great to be there at first place. The team showed great commitment in each training session and the results are there to show. The one day break will do us a world of good. It will help us recuperate and be fresh for the most important clash of the tournament. We have played back to back matches twice in the last one week and the boys deserved this rest.

On knowing the opponents only half a day before the final: Well if it is that way then we will have to accept it and get along with the game. A break would have been fine but I am sure the organisers would have done everything possible to do it. We will follow the semi-final closely on television to try and understand them better.

On the win against Delhi and the knock by Adam Gilchrist: What more do I need to say. It was a spectacular innings and I hope he has one more in store for the final. The win was indeed special. We lost to them twice in the league stage from winning positions. It was a great feeling.

On the restriction on foreign players in the XI: Well it is something Lalit Modi, BCCI and the eight owners have to decide. It is never easy to leave out quality international cricketers. Probably five would be the right number but as I said earlier it is upto the above said to decide.

On the multiple captains theory: It has only been given a new name. The system of senior players chipping in with their views at vital stages of the game has been going on for a long time. A skipper turning to senior players for advice is nothing new. The team will only benefit from it. The leader will only be missing on vital points if he does not take their advice.