Momentum key in IPL, says Venugopal Rao after DC’s win over RCB
Y. Venugopal Rao credited Delhi Capitals’ win over RCB to momentum, key partnerships and David Miller’s finishing. He also praised Axar Patel’s all-round performance and highlighted the importance of tactical bowling decisions and building partnerships in IPL matches.
Hyderabad: In a tournament like this, it is about momentum. I think today, David Miller finished it for us, said Y. Venugopal Rao, Director of cricket, Delhi Capitals.
It came down to one good partnership. The total that RCB posted was competitive, but I felt the partnership between KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs was crucial ,he said on his ten’s win against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday.
And then the way Miller handled it, experience always counts. He did his job really well, he said.
On Axar Patel’s performance and return to form, Venugopal said:
“Of course, when you are captaining the side, you are expected to contribute with both bat and ball.”
“Axar has been working hard. He kept telling us it is a matter of time. He spent a lot of time in the last few days, and today you saw the result,” he said.
At the same time, among the wickets, you need that push. I think the coach pushed him to bowl when Devdutt Padikkal was batting, Venugopal said.
Sometimes you know the strength of a player, but when confidence is low, someone has to push. That is where Hemang told him to bowl, and he picked up a wicket. Then he went on to get another one, including Tim David, he explained.
On bowling decisions in the middle overs, Venugopal said: “Every team has different plans and patterns. You look at what a batter does against fast bowlers and against spinners. Every team studies that.”
“When Romario Shepherd was batting, we wanted to push that extra over from Axar. Because we know that against in-form batters, wrist spinners can create chances.l, ” he said.
“And in a day game, when you have a world-class spinner like Kuldeep, it helps. He got one wicket and then another, and that changed the game. Otherwise, someone like Romario can easily get you an extra 15–20 runs,” Venugopal said.
On restricting RCB and the confidence from the win, Venugopal said: “In this tournament, every team comes hard. Breaking momentum is not easy. In a day game, the wicket behaves differently. It gets slower because of the heat. That is the case across India.”
On Tristan Stubbs as a finisher, Venugopal said: “He has done this before as well, even at this venue. He has been doing it on and off. I will not say he is an instant success every time, but he understands his role.We are fortunate to have him in the Delhi Capitals setup. If he continues like this, we will win more matches.”
On KL Rahul’s role in the middle order, he said he loved playing here. “He is born and brought up here, and even last time he performed well. It is not easy to sit in the dugout and come in at that stage. But he is experienced and a class player.”
On top-order struggles and message to batters
It is just a matter of building small partnerships.
Even 20–30 run partnerships help batters understand the pitch and the bowlers.
That is the message we are giving, to build partnerships.
With their experience, they know what to do.
On giving players freedom to play their game, Venugopal said from the start of the tournament, the message from the coaching staff and management had been clear – play freely.
