Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 26 : Ahead of his side's final league stage game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spin bowling coach Malolan Rangarajan spoke on how the loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after a long break was a "good wake-up call" and the focus remains on bowling well and putting pressure on opponents.
RCB will have a golden chance to seal a qualifier one spot and get themselves a double shot at the IPL final if they secure a win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Lucknow on Tuesday. If they secure a win, they will end the season with a total of 19 points after nine wins, four losses and a no result. Depending on the result of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) versus Mumbai Indians (MI) clash, they could get to occupy the top two spots if they win.
RCB lost their previous game to SRH as the IPL season resumed after a long break due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. After their May 17 clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was washed out due to rain, the SRH clash on May 23 marked the resumption of their campaign.
Speaking in the pre-match presser, Malolan said, "It is a fact that we lost the last game after a big break. It is down to a lot of reasons, not having played in the last 3 weeks, and being a little rusty. It has been documented very well that it was a good knock on the chin for us, a good wake-up call and now looking forward, even though we have guaranteed a place in one of the playoff games, it is important to focus on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and what is going to happen in the Ekana Stadium and that is what we are focusing on, how best we can start bowling, how can we put pressure back on the opponents, so we will be focusing on that. Once that is done, we will look at how and who we play in the playoffs."
The spin bowling coach said that while chasing 232 runs in their previous match, they could have done better with the bat as they lost their last seven wickets for just 16 runs.
"But again, I am not going to dwell on the result of what happened. We could have reacted better. We had a few issues that we had to deal with. As far as what came out of the meeting, hopefully you will see that on the ground tomorrow. Like we had a few challenges in M Chinnaswamy Stadium when we played the first few games. I think we have thought of ways we can address what had gone wrong," he added.
Speaking on the pressure of RCB never winning an IPL title, Malolan said, "England had won the FIFA World Cup in 1966, but yes, it is true that we have not won the IPL title. And we are doing what we can to ensure we become a more consistent and better team. If you look at the last five to six years, RCB has become a more consistent franchise. Whatever people used to say, I don't know if it is true or not, but people used to say that our batting was very good and bowling not so much."
"It feels like we have a balanced team, which gives a little balance to our output. So, our thinking, like all the teams', is to win. What happened in the past is not the responsibility of the current players. It is the responsibility of the current players, which is there today and tomorrow's match. So, if we win, it will be good, but I know everyone, I know each and every player and everyone knows what their wish is and what they want to do. So, there is definitely no pressure where we have not won, because we think how we want to play," he added.
Squads:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Swapnil Singh, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Blessing Muzarabani
Lucknow Super Giants Squad: Mitchell Marsh, Aryan Juyal, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, William ORourke, Akash Maharaj Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Manimaran Siddharth, David Miller, Arshin Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Matthew Breetzke, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary.
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