Fresh from a six-day break, Daniel Vettori said Royal Challengers Bangalore has to stay on top of its game as the Indian Premier League enters its decisive phase with teams jostling for the top four slots.
“Like in any other game, we need to have the right attitude and play our best. King's XI Punjab has a good top-order and we have to bowl well,” the RCB skipper said here on Thursday.
Vettori also backed Zaheer Khan, who has found his spark in the recent games.
“Zaheer bowls in the toughest of times, in the beginning and at the end and there are times when he is bound to go for runs.
“He has got us vital breakthroughs and the wicket of Yuvraj Singh in the game against Pune Warriors virtually sealed the match for us,” Vettori said while conceding that in Twenty20 cricket, the margin for error is minimal.
“You just have to bowl as straight as you can,” he added.
RCB has banked on its top-four right through its campaign and Vettori admitted that with just 20 overs to bat, the lower middle order may not get enough avenues to prosper. The skipper said he was aware that Tillakaratne Dilshan will return to Colombo on May 11 and mentioned that the attacking opener would be missed.
Bad overs
Meanwhile, King's XI Punjab coach Michael Bevan attributed his team's sudden slump to a few bad overs in the last few games.
“Sometimes a batsman can change the course of the game in a matter of three overs. Kieron Pollard it was in the last match.
“I don't think you have time in T20 cricket to lose focus or have a bad three or four overs.
“Otherwise it is going to kill you. That's probably been part of our problem in the last couple of games,” Bevan said.
Bevan stressed the team lost the chase against Mumbai Indians in the first six overs (24 for one) while trailing the host's 159. “It was a good wicket, but you have to give credit to Mumbai Indians.”
