RCB prefer to chase:Vettori

At the Chinnaswamy stadium which has thrown up batting paradises, it’s almost impossible to figure out what a winning total is. That, combined with heavy dew that has made life difficult for bowlers in the night, means teams would prefer chasing to setting a target.

“I think our preference is to chase,” Royal Challengers skipper Daniel Vettori admitted. “It’s something we did a lot in the IPL this year, some­thing we are comfortable with. But we did manage to play exceptionally well against Somerset when we batted first. It’s not something weighing on our minds, but it is a preference for us to chase.”

Vettori disagreed that Friday’s semifinal would be a contest between the RCB batting and the NSW Blues’ versatile bowling attack. “Their opening partnership of Watson and Warner is crucial to NSW’s success, and they have done so well,” Vettori observed. “They are quality players. We saw what Warner did in the last game (a century against the Chennai Super Kings), everyone is aware of how good Watson is, so those will probably be our main focus going into the game, working out ways of getting into that middle order who are still very experienced and very good, but not as destructive as their two top guys.”

Looking none the worse for the post-match celebrations that followed Wednesday night’s exceptional win against the South Australian Redbacks, Vettori was asked if he personally believed KB Arun Karthik would smash the last ball for the six required for victory. “You’d be lying if you said you were 100 percent confident, but KB has something about him.

“There’s a presence about him and he’s pretty calm and pretty devoted to cricket and playing well for RCB. He’s had a couple of chances now and everytime he has stepped up, he has done something. So when that ball went up -- and it wasn’t a small six either, it went a long way!... I am pretty proud for him, that will be something he will live with for the rest of his life and the confidence will grow from that, which is great for us.”

Vettori acknowledged the confidence Wednesday night’s win had given his team. “The team has always been in pretty good spirits but to do it in a do-or-die game and to do that in that style was testimony not only to the skill of the side but also the resilience and the good-feel within the group,” the Kiwi said. “Particularly that it was Virat and Dilshan who did a majority of the work. Chris has beeen amazing for us but to see two other guys step up, that partnership was just incredible. It was a real team effort and that is the thing that brings the most confidence to the side.”