Chris Gayle turned 32 on Wednesday and the manner in which the occasion was observed (including the obligatory smearing of cake on visage), Ray Jennings believes, is a sign of a good outcome in Friday's Champions League encounter with Warriors.
“Everyone is in a positive and happy frame of mind,” the RCB coach said. “The way they celebrated Chris Gayle's birthday on Wednesday really showed the happy mood the team is in.
“For me, these are signs of good things to come as I believe that a happy and positive team also performs well on the ground.”
The playing XI, however, would only be decided on Friday, Jennings stated. “See, the best thing about the Bangalore wicket is that if you see bit of moisture today, it will be dry the very next day. So we will have to see how the pitch is on Friday and then decide.”
Jennings also felt Warriors would be his side's strongest opponent in the tournament. “From what I have seen of them, they have a fighting spirit,” he said.
His counterpart Piet Botha, meanwhile, revealed that Gayle had been discussed in team meetings. “We know what he's capable of,” he said. “He can take the game away from you.
“We've got a couple of tricks, I suppose, but it's mostly just normal cricket — he's human like everyone else, and we've got good bowlers. It could go both ways.”
Botha added that Warriors had studied its opponent well. “We've seen RCB play a lot — we've watched most of the IPL. We've discussed a lot and we expect a hard game.”
