Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) celebrated their huge win against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday. The head coach Simon Katich began the address by saying that their performance was ‘absolutely clinical’ in what was a ‘crunch game’ for them.
Katich acknowledged the fact that fast bowler Mohammad Siraj was coming off after missing a game because of a tough game against Kings XI Punjab, where he conceded 44 runs in his 3 overs, with an economy of 14.70. Despite that, he came and bowled like that (3/0 in his first two overs), speaks volumes of his character, he added.
Katich also commended the fielding efforts of the team, which according to him, went a long way in maintaining pressure on KKR batsmen and restrict them to 84.
Mike Hesson, RCB’s Director of Cricket Operations, appreciated the fact that their bowlers swung the ball early which gave them success. “I think the skipper (Virat Kohli) responded to the first over from (Chris) Morris, just a little bit of shape. We talked about if it swung then Siraj was a good option with the new ball. He made that call and then the lengths that Siraj hit in that first over were exceptional.”
Hesson added that Siraj set up the left-hander Nitish Rana with good plans and executed them to perfection. “He set up Rana with the leg slip and slip, get him caught on the crease and just swing it back was poetry.”
RCB bowling coach, Adam Griffith applauded the bowling group’s efforts saying that it was exceptional and told the team to enjoy it as nights like those don’t come very often in T20 cricket, especially where they restrict a team to a score of 80-odd.
Katich lastly said that it was a big game considering the points table and was good for them to get those two points. He added that their planning and execution was spot-on and the result took care of itself after that.
RCB now have won 7 games out of the ten they have played and are now just behind the Delhi Capitals on the second position because of a lesser net run-rate.
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