Kings XI Punjab hit the right notes

Captain George Bailey says his team is focused on implementing plans

Kings XI Punjab retained their unbeaten record in Pepsi IPL 2014 when they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets in a match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Monday night.

“Obviously we are very happy with what’s happened. It’s also a good time for us to take stock of how we have been playing. (Coach) Sanjay (Bangar) isn’t too much into results but into looking at how we have been playing, which has been really impressive. So we take stock, reload and relaunch when we reach India,” an elated captain George Bailey told reporters after the match.

The Australian said his team were more focused on implementing their plans while playing against Bangalore.

“We focussed a lot on our plans. If you spent all your time looking at the strengths of RCB batting line-up, you’d be exhausted by the time you got to the game. They are a very, very strong side. But we focussed on what our bowling group does well and then tried to match up the bowlers we thought might be able to do well against their batters. On a different day… they have a wonderful batting line-up. They will go a long way in this tournament.” The skipper also lauded the knock of Virender Sehwag, who chipped in with a useful 32 off 26 balls with four boundaries to help the team clinch a comfortable victory over RCB.

“(His knock was) really handy; he was a bit unlucky tonight with his dismissal, but he controlled the innings really well. When you’re chasing low totals, you want someone in your top three or four to take control of the game.

“RCB bowled pretty well, took a couple of good catches that kept them in the game. But Viru, with his experience, he has been through so many situations before. When I’m sitting on the bench and I’m sure it’s the case with some of the younger guys, they see him controlling the innings, still finding his boundaries and milking the bowling for singles, it just brings a sense of calm to the whole team,” he said.

Bailey said the key to success in Twenty20s depends a lot on the team’s balance.

“If you want to be a good team, you can’t rely too heavily on one or the other. If you look at the successful T20 sides in the IPL, they generally have a well-balanced side. It’s not often that you play the perfect game and the batters fire and the bowlers fire – that’s just the nature of the game.

“What’s really pleasing from the bowling group is that they are doing well individually and bowling well as a group. I don’t know if that’s visible from the outside but we can really feel it on the field and that’s really special.”

While analysing the factors that led to his team’s consecutive victories in the lucrative tournament, he said: “(We are) very happy with the composition. As a team we’re pretty happy. Tonight, coming up against a batting line-up like RCB, for our bowlers to perform like they did, that’s really pleasing. Likewise, we have seen our batting group respond when they have had to chase big totals as well, and nasty totals like tonight.” Bailey was extremely happy with the playing environment in the UAE.

“I think it’s really opened the region’s eyes up to cricket. As we have gone out and dinner, people have really warmed to us. I hear a lot of people saying that they would like to have the beginning of the IPL here every year. So India might have a fight on their hands. That could be outstanding. It’s great. And we have really enjoyed the facilities. All the grounds are magnificent, so no issues there either.”

pradeep@khaleejtimes.com