Mayank is special: Vettori

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Mayank Agarwal slog-swept the legendary off-spinner to the mid-wicket fence as the Sri Lankan was introduced into the attack in their first match on Saturday, attracting a piercing glare from the bowler.

“(He is) One of those guys we have seen in the training camp before the start of the tournament,” noted Royal Challengers skipper Daniel Vettori here on Monday ahead of their Tuesday’s clash against Mumbai Indians.

Agarwal hit a breezy 33 off 24 balls to set the tempo for Challengers’ chase against Kochi Tuskers Kerala. “We have seen there is something special in him. He has played for India U-19, people have recognised his pedigree and he went out and played with no fear. He played his own game, the shot off Muralitharan was an amazing one. He is someone to watch out for the future,” he elobarated.

Vettori was happy that he had plenty of part-time options in case a specialist bowler had an off-day like in the case of A Mithun against Kochi.

“The plan was always to get overs out of Virat (Kohli) and Asad (Pathan),” said Vettori when asked if he felt handicapped a bit with one bowler having a bad day.

“Obviously Mithun had a tough start but he is a quality bowler. So we back him to come back and do a good job. Particularly on this wicket which will suit him more. We are fortunate we have those bowlers in Kohli and Asad and Dilshan as well, who can fill in and actually do a good job.”  Mumbai bowling coach Shaun Pollock hoped the thumping win over Delhi Daredevils in their opener will hold them in good stead.

“We are happy that we got off with a win,” he remarked. “But we can't read much into just one game. (Lasith) Malinga was superb for us and allowed us to get over the line easily. It is a team-game and each guy has to perform as the tournament progresses.

We want quality performances from all our players. It is good to win the first game. But we are trying to be as focused as we can and play as well as we can each time,” he explained.

RCB will face a tough task againt Mumbai, who had scored a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in their previous encounter.