Allan Donald rues bad RCB bowling display thus far

RCB bowling coach Allan Donald has agreed that the bowling unit of the Royal Challengers Bangalore has been substandard in comparison with the batting. The former South African pacer admitted that the bowlers had slipped up and desperate steps were necessary to fix the bowling unit.

The Royal Challengers have batted extremely well, evidence of which can be found in the fact that Virat Kohli is the current holder of the orange cap with 367 runs. However, despite a mammoth score of 192 against the Gujarat Lions, the Challengers failed to defend the total with all bowlers being plundered for runs.

“We have batted really well in this competition so far. There’s no doubt we slipped up with the ball and that is something that we are continuously working on at the moment. As I said, we have really fired with the bat. Virat (Kohli) has led from the front, but we made some crucial errors with the ball. That’s something that we will put right hopefully in this game tomorrow,” said Donald, on the eve of RCB’s encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Chris Jordan’s addition to the team may well prove to be the shot in the arm the Challengers need.

“Chris (Jordan) has done some really good things for England over the last 12 months or so, especially from a one-day and Twenty20 perspective. He’s shown why he is one of the world’s best death bowlers. He’s an attacking bowler, he’s an aggressive bowler. When it comes to closing a game out, he’s one who is right up there,” the former South African bowler opined.

“Not only that, he’s such a versatile cricketer in terms of his athleticism, he’s a great fielder, he’s not shy of hitting the long ball too. He’s not mugging with the bat coming in the lower-order and winning you a game of cricket. So we are excited. He’s arriving, I think, on Saturday or Sunday in Bangalore. So we are very excited to have him in the group as a very good replacement with Mitchell Starc,” he added.

“Chahal is a not a great spinner of the ball, but he’s a very very clever thinker about how he goes about his job. He’s got some really good variations. I think the last year and the year before, he was very very effective. He had a good game in the last game against the Lions. We know that he’s a quality bowler, that’s for sure. And he brings us that extra X-factor that we are searching for and now with Shamsi in our team as well, he has that mystery factor.

“He’s one that if you take him for granted and don’t pay him enough respect, he will run all over you. So to have those two guys firing at the same time. I think they complement each other very well – left-arm and a leggie. So Chahal for me – he’s almost there. Hasn’t had a great tournament as of yet, hasn’t started really well, but I think he’s almost there. It’s a bit of a luxury to have those two in the team,” he explained.

“Momentum is a massive thing in this tournament and that is what we need right now. So the next three games for us is absolutely enormous in terms of finding that momentum that rhythm… that confidence that we are looking for,” he said.