Really proud of the way we held ourselves under pressure: RCB head coach

India Today

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.

Transcript

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.

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