Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach Andy Flower praised his team for holding their nerves under pressure against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and registering a thrilling 11-run win at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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00:00Yeah, well, I would probably refer to both of his last overs because his two overs went for seven
00:08and he took three wickets in them. So I think both those overs showed the class of the guy.
00:17You know, he's a class operator, he's a world-class bowler. He is great under pressure in any format
00:25of the game. He thinks clearly and he's got great skill. I know he's known for his heavy length bowling
00:32but he's got some great all-round skills. He mixes in those Yorkers, wide Yorkers, slower balls and he
00:44seems to know what type of ball to bowl at the right time. So it's great having a guy like him
00:50in our side, in our squad and part of a very strong three-pronged attack. I thought, you know,
01:02Buvi's been superb this season and Yash was outstanding again today. That last over, I thought he showed
01:12outstanding skill and composure under pressure to repeatedly bowl Yorkers like that. So I think
01:22those three quicks have been great for us so far this season. I've got some more work to do, obviously,
01:27to help us in this last third of the league matches and Hazelwood certainly leads from the front in that regard.
01:41Yeah, it was really important. We've had four home games here. We've lost the toss each time.
01:58We know that trying to defend a target here is tough. And I think in the first three games,
02:06I thought our bowlers and fielding unit did outstanding work to keep us in the game as long
02:13as they did because all three totals were a bit below par. So watching our guys adapt to the conditions
02:23today was really gratifying. I was really proud of the way that they batted.
02:31Dev Padikal was sensational to score 50 of 27 balls like that
02:39without ever slogging. I thought that was a genuinely outstanding innings.
02:46We say a lot about Virat, but his 70 or 42 balls and that partnership with Dev really gave us a platform on a pitch that wasn't that easy,
03:00I didn't think. I thought that was an above par total, to be honest.
03:04And so that class of batting and thinking that went into it from those guys, I thought was genuinely outstanding.
03:17So yeah, really important to get that win. Obviously, our amazing supporters wanted to see some of that success.
03:27They were concerned about us here at home. We've got three more games here at home.
03:33That's so vitally important for us to play well in these conditions.
03:40And it was great to put on a show and for the spectators to have such a great game of cricket to watch.
03:46You know, we were we were struggling at the end there when they needed 17 of 12 balls.
03:52And and that the composure that the bowlers showed out there and also that Rajat Patidhar showed out there.
04:02I'm really proud of the way they they held themselves under pressure.
04:05Yeah, then we have a nice question.
04:07Hi, Andy.
04:08Hi.
04:09Just a word of Granada.
04:10What's been working for him this season?
04:12This is the most wickets that he has ever taken in an ideal season.
04:16But there were no wickets at home before this.
04:18And if they were all away, he struck first of all.
04:21So what changes that went behind the scenes, especially with Granada?
04:25Well, Krunal was a very important pick for us in the auction.
04:29You know, we were we were targeting him.
04:33We obviously liked his all round capabilities, but also his experience.
04:39You know, he's experienced winning the IPL.
04:42He's experienced captaining in the IPL.
04:45He's played international cricket.
04:46He's got a good cricket head on his shoulders.
04:49And he's also got a bit of fire in his belly.
04:51And I really like that.
04:53Obviously, both brothers do.
04:54So he was he was an important pick for us in the auction.
05:00I think he's done some really good work with Marlow, our spin coach, who I think is an excellent
05:07spin bowling coach and excellent all round coach, actually.
05:10And I think they've had some really good conversations about some of the tactics that Krunal's employing.
05:20I'm obviously not going to go into great detail about that, but they've been working really well together.
05:27And and it's great to watch him operate like that, like he did today.
05:33He yes, he's having a great season wicket wise, and he's using all that mouse and that sort of street wise
05:44cricket knowledge that he's picked up over the years while he's been paying attention to what he does.
05:51What was your message?
05:52Look, we we always thought that we could create enough chances to take wickets out there.
06:09As I say, I didn't think the the pitch was as easy as the scores have
06:14have have shown this evening. Even in power play, there were a lot of top edges, balls just dipping
06:25over fielders heads or just landing just before fielders on the boundary. So I thought we were
06:31creating little half or quarter chances in power play. And but but they were ahead of the game
06:40after eight overs, no doubt about that. I do. I thought Rajat did a great job of staying calm.
06:50Also, just getting a little bit. So the the ball spun all match, even when the ball was getting a
07:01little bit wet, it's it was still holding a little. So we knew that if we if we used our eight overs of
07:07spin, we could create a few chances with that and perhaps drive that run rate in the right direction
07:12for us. And also, I think to hold the momentum you were talking about, we needed a little bit of
07:18death bowling in the middle overs. So you saw a little bit of Yorker, Yorker and slow ball bowling
07:25in those middle overs when the seamers got their chance. And we dragged the game back.
07:32Yeah. Yeah, let's do one last question. Quick one please.
07:40Andy, if you could give an insight into what sort of conversations you had from the
07:46battles. You've spoken about how this has not been an easy pitch to battle. Is it
07:52is it about shot selection? Is it about selecting zones for targets? For example, behind squares
08:00probably better than trying to square when it comes to playing pool shots across the nightly.
08:04What were the conversations like?
08:06Yeah, it's a really good question that you articulate. I'm afraid I really like giving honest answers
08:15in to the press. But I also don't want to give away too much detail on the tactical game here at
08:24Chinnaswamy. As you can see, the conditions are a little bit different to the high scoring Chinnaswamy
08:31conditions that that the stadium is renowned for. So what I would say is we've got some great
08:41experience in the team, you know, both in the overseas players and in the Indian contingent.
08:49And we've got some intelligent cricketers. So the conversations that the players were having
08:54amongst themselves, but also with DK, who not only knows this ground very well, but knows IPL cricket
09:02in great depth. I think the conversations that they've had, some of the input from DK,
09:10some of the input and leadership from Virat has been really high quality. So those conversations
09:19they've had have been high quality. I'd like to give you a little more detail, but maybe at the end of the season.