<p>What makes Chris special is the sheer power he brings with him. As a bowler, you can’t help but think that if you get it even slightly wrong, you will disappear a long way. He is a brutal striker of the ball, perhaps the hardest hitter in world cricket, and we saw that time and again against the Kolkata Knight Riders. It doesn’t matter to him if it is a fast bowler bowling or a spinner operating -- he can smash the ball when he is in the mood. As a bowler, you know that either you get him out cheaply, or you suffer big time.<br /><br />When we at Royal Challengers were looking for a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes, we explored all options. We knew we had overseas fast-bowling back-up in the form of Nuwan Pradeep, Charl Langeveldt and Johan van der Wath, so we started to look for a batsman, and the first name that sprang to mind was Chris.<br /><br />He had just been left out of the West Indies one-day squad and therefore availability was not an issue. It was the uncertainty over how long he would be available that was the reason for him being unsold in the auction, but once we knew he could be with us for the duration of this tournament, we immediately decided to pursue him.<br /><br />Icontacted him to ask if he wanted to play for us, and he was more than keen. Everything proceeded extremely rapidly from then on and he got to Bangalore so quickly that had we wanted, he could have even played against Rajasthan Royals last Tuesday!<br />Chris brings that fear factor with him that can have such a deep-rooted psychological impact. We put ourselves in the boots of the opposition and thought what kind of an impact the opening combination of Gayle and Dilshan would make. We came to the instant conclusion that straightaway, they would put the opposition on the back foot! As they showed on Friday, when they put on 123 in practically no time.<br /><br />As much as Chris, I was delighted with how Syed Mohammad performed on his debut for RCB. He came in as a late replacement for Raju Bhatkal. He has been practising his left-arm spin with us in the nets for the last two weeks, and having played in the ICL, we knew that he was used to the Twenty20 format. <br /><br />He has a very mature head and he showed on Friday that he can handle the pressure. The Eden track promised turn and help for the spinners, and it was ideal to have Syed as well as Chris playing their first games for us, because apart from his fearful batting, Chris can also bowl very handy off-spin.<br /><br />The commanding nine-wicket win will give the team a great deal of confidence, but we need to get our bowling right. We got away thanks to Chris, but to concede 170 on that Eden pitch wasn’t the best effort. Zaheer is finding it a little difficult at the moment, and we need him to fire. We also need the younger bowlers to come to the party over the next few games.<br /><br />The fielding was better, but we need to get better. We saw how fielding set up Mumbai Indians’ victory over Chennai Super Kings, and it’s that standard we must aspire for. <br />It was great to see Chris deliver against his former franchise. Our next game is against the Delhi Daredevils, and we have three ex-Daredevils in our ranks. If Dilshan, AB and Daniel can all come good, and local lad Virat Kohli can continue his good form, it will do very nicely, from the Challengers’ perspective! <br /><br /><em>Hawkeye Communications/ Chivach Sports</em></p>
<p>What makes Chris special is the sheer power he brings with him. As a bowler, you can’t help but think that if you get it even slightly wrong, you will disappear a long way. He is a brutal striker of the ball, perhaps the hardest hitter in world cricket, and we saw that time and again against the Kolkata Knight Riders. It doesn’t matter to him if it is a fast bowler bowling or a spinner operating -- he can smash the ball when he is in the mood. As a bowler, you know that either you get him out cheaply, or you suffer big time.<br /><br />When we at Royal Challengers were looking for a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes, we explored all options. We knew we had overseas fast-bowling back-up in the form of Nuwan Pradeep, Charl Langeveldt and Johan van der Wath, so we started to look for a batsman, and the first name that sprang to mind was Chris.<br /><br />He had just been left out of the West Indies one-day squad and therefore availability was not an issue. It was the uncertainty over how long he would be available that was the reason for him being unsold in the auction, but once we knew he could be with us for the duration of this tournament, we immediately decided to pursue him.<br /><br />Icontacted him to ask if he wanted to play for us, and he was more than keen. Everything proceeded extremely rapidly from then on and he got to Bangalore so quickly that had we wanted, he could have even played against Rajasthan Royals last Tuesday!<br />Chris brings that fear factor with him that can have such a deep-rooted psychological impact. We put ourselves in the boots of the opposition and thought what kind of an impact the opening combination of Gayle and Dilshan would make. We came to the instant conclusion that straightaway, they would put the opposition on the back foot! As they showed on Friday, when they put on 123 in practically no time.<br /><br />As much as Chris, I was delighted with how Syed Mohammad performed on his debut for RCB. He came in as a late replacement for Raju Bhatkal. He has been practising his left-arm spin with us in the nets for the last two weeks, and having played in the ICL, we knew that he was used to the Twenty20 format. <br /><br />He has a very mature head and he showed on Friday that he can handle the pressure. The Eden track promised turn and help for the spinners, and it was ideal to have Syed as well as Chris playing their first games for us, because apart from his fearful batting, Chris can also bowl very handy off-spin.<br /><br />The commanding nine-wicket win will give the team a great deal of confidence, but we need to get our bowling right. We got away thanks to Chris, but to concede 170 on that Eden pitch wasn’t the best effort. Zaheer is finding it a little difficult at the moment, and we need him to fire. We also need the younger bowlers to come to the party over the next few games.<br /><br />The fielding was better, but we need to get better. We saw how fielding set up Mumbai Indians’ victory over Chennai Super Kings, and it’s that standard we must aspire for. <br />It was great to see Chris deliver against his former franchise. Our next game is against the Delhi Daredevils, and we have three ex-Daredevils in our ranks. If Dilshan, AB and Daniel can all come good, and local lad Virat Kohli can continue his good form, it will do very nicely, from the Challengers’ perspective! <br /><br /><em>Hawkeye Communications/ Chivach Sports</em></p>