JOIN USConsequently, there has been talk that the Bangalore side peaked too early in the tournament.
“Every time is a right time to win,” reacted Rahul Dravid, addressing the media here on Friday ahead of their crucial clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders. “Looking back, it's nice that we had that cushion (four wins).
“We started off so well that we could afford to drop a few points. But now, the cushion factor is gone. You can see we won five and lost five, we can't afford to lose anymore games from now on. Certainly we have to peak right now.”
While they still stand a great chance of making the semis, Dravid stressed the need to maintain intensity. “We are still in the mix though we haven't played the way we would have liked to in the last four or five games.
“We have to play good cricket from here. If you look at the table, every game is going to be important. We are playing with teams that are competing for the spots with us,” he remarked.
Dravid felt the Challengers’ failure to defend 184 against Deccan Chargers was disappointing. “We could have bowled a little better in the middle and end overs. Having said that, we have some quality bowlers in our line-up, all the five bowlers who took part yesterday are internationals. We had some bad days, but we can definitely bounce back,” he noted.
The pitch at the Chinnaswamy too came in for praise from Dravid. “It has given both the bowlers and the batsmen an even chance. There is something in it for the fast bowlers, bounce for the spinners but if you err in length, batsmen have the chance to play shots.
“It's a good contest between bat and ball on this wicket,” he pointed out.
On the clash with KKR, Dravid said it should be a good contest as both teams are in the middle of the table and need to win. “I see this as a really important game. With the quality of players we have, definitely we can bounce back. Tomorrow you will see a side which is determined to stay in the tournament,” explained Dravid, who said he was fit to play on Saturday.
Dravid had hurt his ankle on Thursday while batting and didn’t take the field, and his availability should be a big relief for Anil Kumble.