IPL 2012: Don't have to take chances while opening with Gayle, says Dilshan

By CricketCountry Staff

 

Bangalore: May 7, 2012

 

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) opener Tillakaratne Dilshan on Sunday said he doesn’t need to take risks while opening with Chris Gayle.

 

“He is fantastic. I don’t have to take any chances batting with him. He can change the game in one over. It’s good to open the batting with him.”

 

Talking about Gayle’s batting on 11 while Dilshan reached his half-century, “This is the way T20 goes. If I get a start, I should be get going and vice versa. I got off to a start and he kept giving me the strike. We had a great partnership and it helped us win the game.”

 

“We had to win this match as DC is at the bottom of the table. From here on, we have to win four-five matches. It was a great effort from the team and the way we batted was unbelievable,” Dilshan was quoted as saying by the official website of Indian Premier League (IPL).

 

When asked about the reason for batting first against Deccan Chargers (DC) on Sunday, Dilshan said, “DC doesn’t have great spinners and we were aware about this. So we thought we could chase any total. It was a good wicket, so we planned to chase and it was a good decision by the captain and the management.”

 

Dilshan feels bowling has been one area when RCB needs to keep a tab on.

 

“That’s one area we have to keep an eye on and we have to take wickets in the early overs to put pressure on the opposition. Muttiah Muralitharan bowled really well today, but didn’t have enough luck to get wickets, and Vinay Kumar is injured.”

 

On Sunday, Royal Challengers played without their regular captain Daniel Vettori.

 

“Dan [Vettori] is a great captain and he gave an opportunity to Murali as they [DC] had three frontline left-handers. He stepped down so that the team could get a good combination. He was still behind the scenes and I am enjoying playing under him,” Dilshan concluded.