The match between the Royal Challengers and the Deccan Chargers the other day was very interesting to watch. Both the teams are out of the tournament, and they were playing for “pride”. But there was a definite difference between the approach of the two teams. It seemed like the Royal Challengers were out there on the field having fun, and were enjoying their cricket. They didn’t seem to be under any pressure to prove anything to anybody. All the fights with Mallya in the public seem to have brought about a change in their attitude.
The new Bangalore Royal Challengers Mantra seems to be:
“Oh, What The Hell!”
And you know what, it seems to be working. With all the pressure gone, they can now put everything behind them and start to enjoy the cricket. Dravid, Kohli, Kallis, White were all out there timepassing and having fun with the cricket.
If you observe the Rajasthan Royals, you can get the exact same vibe from them too. They came into the tournament not having to prove anything, and warne is a great leader in that respect. He’s told everybody - Don’t worry about what everyone says. Go out there and have fun. And its obvious that the Rajasthan Royals come out there to enjoy themselves. I’m sure Grahame Smith is having the same influence on the team. Smith is a total party guy and very funny, and I’m sure he’s been a great inspirational influence on the batsmen.
"If you observe the Rajasthan Royals, you can get the exact same vibe
from them too. They came into the tournament not having to prove
anything just like RC in their last match"
The KnightRiders also seem to suffer from this problem. Dada seems to be under enormous stress to prove himself in Twenty20, and the tentativeness shows in his batting. Contrast Ganguly’s attitude to Sehwag’s. Sehwag has this I-don’t-care-about-your-experts-I-just-want-to-hit-my-sixers attitude, and that has helped the Delhi Daredevils.
The good news is that the teams are starting to realize this, and they’ll be remembering this when they all come back next season.
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