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‘Chargers can come back'

V.V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD: Daniel Vettori, captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, says that Deccan Chargers can come back despite the two early losses. “It is all about picking the momentum in a short period for any team,” he said. He also said he doesn't believe in the ‘jinx' factor (his team has not won a game in the IPL so far at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium).

Playing down the indifferent night his bowlers had in the previous match against Mumbai Indians, Vettori said that Zaheer Khan could come back very strongly.

“Remember he had a great World Cup and is a very good bowler. It is a bit of a setback to miss Dirk Nannes because of an injury,” he said.

“The hardest thing about IPL is travelling. You travel so much, then attend functions and then play the matches,” Vettori said.

Coach Darren Lehmann says the team is upbeat despite two consecutive losses.

“Certainly, it was not the start we were looking for. But, it is all about the question of one or two big knocks from the top order.

“We are really working hard and the team is gelling well,” Lehmann said ahead of his team's third match in this edition against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday.

“I don't think batting is a worry despite the first two losses. It is about building useful partnerships which we hope to do tomorrow,” the former Australian World Cup-winning team member said. “There is nothing alarming about these early losses. We can always come back,” he said.

Lankan problem

About the possibility of his captain and Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara leaving early as per the latest directive of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board which asked all its IPL players to return home for preparations for the coming England tour, Lehmann evaded a direct reply by merely saying: “Let us wait and see. We have to find out what exactly the position is.”

On Aussie Cameron White, the Chargers coach said he was expected to join the team on Thursday afternoon. “But, I am not too sure whether he will play tomorrow. There is a 50-50 chance of his playing,” he said.

Referring to the pitch for tomorrow's match, Lehmann feels it is one of the best wickets with a lot of bounce and carry.

“But again, on such wickets we need to post a decent total to defend,” he said. “We were short by 15 runs in the first match here and hope to improve on this front,” he added.

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma said he was more interested in the team's performances than in his individual performance.

“There is no point in bowling well and the team losing,” he said.

“Definitely, Lasith Malinga is looking deadly with his yorkers and Shaun Tait is bowling extremely fast.

“But for me, the focus is on bowling straight and getting that extra bounce,” he said.

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