'It's about how we deal with game under pressure' - Mike Hesson comes up with a new strategy for RCB players

After a five-wicket loss against the Punjab Kings in a high-scoring encounter last weekend, the Royal Challengers Bangalore got the better of Kolkata Knight Riders in their second IPL 2022 clash at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai by three wickets. By the virtue of this win, RCB added the first two points to their tally in the ongoing season.

While Bangalore did register their first win, they were made to work hard chasing a paltry 129 as a disciplined bowling performance from KKR ensured that the batters had to take the game to the final over for getting the job done. Now, the RCB’s director of cricket operations Mike Hesson has come up with a new strategy that will help the players in dealing with match pressure.

Mike Hesson chalks out a plan to ease the pressure off RCB players

“When the game is on the line, whether we are batting or bowling, it’s about how we deal with the game under pressure — the last 5 overs. So, a lot of what we did (was) all of the bowlers sitting with the captain, going through the fieldsets in terms of different options”, said Hesson while speaking on RCB Bold Diaries.

“Obviously, no matter what option you have, what field you have, you have to have at least three options in terms of deliveries you can bowl. And then when you’re under pressure, how are you going to get out of that — whether you’re gonna split the over up, maybe change the field?” he added.

It seemed to be a cakewalk for the Bengaluru-based franchise after bowling out Kolkata for just 128 with more than over to spare but, their famed batting line-up including Virat Kohli and skipper Faf du Plessis could not get going and were sent back early. Had it not been for the middle-order duo of Sherfane Rutherford and Shahbaz Ahmed, RCB could have lost the plot completely. Rutherford scored a vital 28 runs from 40 deliveries while Ahmed scored an important 20-ball 27. In the end, Dinesh Karthik and Harshal Patel added finishing touches.

RCB will next be seen in action against the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 5.