RCB coach Ray Jennings feels that it is the combination of the three departments of the game that has seen his side in a good position at the half way stage of this edition of the IPL.
“I have been here for five years, and I have a very clear idea of what needs to be done from the franchise point of view, and the combinations of players and the vibes to be kept in the side,” said Jennings, after his team’s optional session at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday.
Excerpts:
On RCB’s position now:
It is more about how you finish than how you start. We are going to play six out of the next eight games away. So it is important how we actually end up on the finishing line. I would like to ignore what has happened in first eight.
Lot of people say momentum is pretty important; yes it is, but it is also how we finish the next eight games that is going to determine where we are in the competition.
Bowling has done well too:
The media has been speaking about our batting, and taken the focus away from our bowling. If you look at our bowling, it is very difficult to take a bowler out of our combination because every bowler has performed. We have got guys like Mithun and Harshal Patel sitting on the side. So our bowling unit is really strong, and backed up by good fielding.
Advise to in-form batsman like Gayle, Kohli and de Villiers:
Ravi Rampaul is bowling well and so is R.P. Singh. The point I want to make is that three players cannot win a game.
If you bat well and you bowl badly, you are going to lose the game. You need to complement your batting and bowling with fielding, and all three departments have to work together.
Yes, it has been about Gayle, Kohli and de Villiers, but look at Vinay Kumar and R.P. Singh. We haven’t done too much wrong on the fielding side.
I think, as a unit, the side is in a good space and we are performing at the right level with the team combinations and in individual skills.
Batsmen striking form in the competition:
I think the batsmen always start off slow in the IPL because the nerves play a big role.
They always try to find their position in the team. As a bowler you have more than one chance but as a batsman if you don’t score well in your first game, you get a little nervous.
I think once the permutation starts settling down and the players start scoring runs then they have the freedom to actually play the shots.
