Rajasthan Royals (RR) assistant and fast bowling coach Shane Bond feels Sanju Samson's comeback as captain has had a calming influence on the entire team. Samson finally returned as captain and wicketkeeper for Rajasthan in the previous game after playing first three matches as an Impact Substitute due to injury.
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00:00So we come in here with a great deal of confidence and, you know, we're well amongst it in terms of the points table and we've talked a lot about just playing good cricket game after game.
00:10So, yeah, we know we're up against a very well drilled and organised team and we're going to have to play well tomorrow.
00:18Yeah, look, I think, you know, you have bad days sometimes in T20 career.
00:23I had a real bad one, to be fair.
00:24And, you know, as a player, it stings a little bit, but you've got to reflect, but also you have to have a short memory that, you know, the next day comes sort of three days later.
00:35And so what Joff's gone about is just training with real focus and intensity.
00:39His training's been outstanding.
00:41And really what he's done from the last couple of games is just transferred his training into the game.
00:45You know, he's prepared well in terms of the plans off the field, trained really well, and then just gone out there and executed.
00:51And when he does, he's, you know, one of the best in the world.
00:53So I think we also recognise that giving him the new ball has made a big difference for us.
00:58You know, we've put runs on the board and people have found it hard against him with the new ball that's moving around with his pace and his bounce.
01:03So I think him leading our attack has given the rest of the bowling group a lot of confidence.
01:09I know he's got a lot of confidence and so excited to see what he can do out here on this wicket tomorrow.
01:15But, yeah, he's a real important part of our team.
01:19And it's nice to get him back into the form that we know he's capable of.
01:24People always look at the results in terms of wickets.
01:27You know, he bowled an absolute peach of a delivery first up.
01:31But what we talk about as bowlers is, you know, you can come and bowl well and still get hit in this game.
01:37So we talk about just trying to bowl well, bowl our plans, be calm in the face of pressure.
01:42And if we do that and get hit, then it's OK.
01:45And so if you look at the last couple of games, Joff has just bowled in really good areas, made it very difficult to score.
01:50And as a result, he's picked up wickets.
01:52Or if he hasn't, someone at the other end's picked up wickets.
01:54So, look, there's no real secret about this game.
01:57He's a quality bowler and said he had a bad day at the office.
02:02You've just got to let that go and, you know, get on with it.
02:04Yeah, they're going well.
02:08Unstoppable, not sure about unstoppable, but they're a good bowling attack.
02:12You know, we know they've got bowlers who have got some pace and they'll get some movement out of this pitch.
02:17There's always something in here for the bowlers, even though it gets a little bit dewy at times.
02:21So this wicket here presents different challenges.
02:24It sort of changes over the course of both innings.
02:27So our ability to adapt here is going to be key.
02:30You know, when you play away, you want to win at home and then you want to pinch some games away from home.
02:34So we've pinched one in Punjab.
02:36It would be lovely to come and steal another win here before we go back for a decent run of games for us at home.
02:42But, you know, what GT have done and why they've been so successful in a short period of time is they've recruited very well.
02:48They're very clear about how they want to play and how they can be successful here.
02:51And that's why they're really tough to beat here.
02:55That's pretty good.
02:56Yeah, it's always nice to have more wins than losses.
02:58But when you're 0-2, you're always under pressure.
03:01And we weren't playing very well in the first couple of games.
03:04But it's, you know, when you've got a new team, sometimes that happens.
03:07You know, Sanju was out for a couple of games and Rian did a really good job.
03:11But Sanju coming back in is a real calming influence on the squad as well.
03:16And we've sort of just clicked.
03:17You know, we've sort of spent a lot of time together.
03:19The group's really happy.
03:21They get on really well.
03:22And the cricket has sort of started to click for us.
03:23So now we've just got to maintain that.
03:26And if we do, you know, we know we can be a threat in this competition.
03:30But 2-2, yeah, we're reasonably happy.
03:32Siddharth, yeah, from the PTI.
03:36My question is regarding the batting side of your team.
03:40We've seen you have explosive batting lineup.
03:43Rayan Parag coming up.
03:44Samson coming up.
03:46There is striking over 150, you know, batting up the order.
03:49Yashasvi Jaiswal's inconsistent form has been a bit of concern.
03:53Though he's a great player.
03:54And Indian selector is also eyeing to him the way he's playing.
03:58How are you working with him to get his rhythm back?
04:01Is there specifically something you guys are working on it?
04:04No, not too much.
04:05I think, you know, when you're in, you play at the top of the order,
04:09there's an expectation that you're going to, you know, play, you know, with some risk.
04:13And with some risk comes the opportunity you're going to get out.
04:16So it's almost like with Yashas, you know, we want him to play shots.
04:20But if we know if he can get through the first couple overs, what a devastating player is.
04:24I suppose a little bit about tempo.
04:26You know, you can give yourself a few balls.
04:29But from ball one, he can be so destructive.
04:32The thing about T20 is you're looking for contributions from everybody.
04:35We can't rely on one player to win us the tournament.
04:39We need our batting lineup to score.
04:41It's a reasonably, I wouldn't say inexperienced,
04:43but it's a young batting lineup with a huge amount of talent,
04:47which is really exciting to watch.
04:49So whether it be Jarrell or Parag, you know, they've been in the IPL now for a few years.
04:53They're really exciting to watch.
04:55So, you know, we don't have the depth of all-rounders that other teams have.
04:58So, you know, we've got generally five bowlers
05:00and then the sort of seven batters using the impact rule.
05:03So, you know, we need our batsmen to stand up.
05:06And look, they have been.
05:07And we know if they, all of them are very capable if they get in of scoring very fast
05:12and scoring a lot of runs quickly.
05:13So it was nice to see Yash come into some form in the last game.
05:17And, you know, if he and Sandju can get us off to good starts,
05:20then it will flow through the risk.
05:21Like every team, it will flow through the order.
05:23So just pleased that Yash got some runs under the board.
05:26It's like any player, he can relax a little bit now
05:28and just go out and just do his thing because we know how good he is.
05:34You yourself have been a great fast bowler.
05:35You've been clicking when you used to bowl 150, 151, you used to bowl very normally.
05:42You see Jofra Archer, you know, coming down.
05:44He's also that sort of a bowler, normally gets an average speed of 145, 146.
05:48Seeing the type of conditions, you know, the heat is too much.
05:51I mean, it's 40, 44 degrees in the daytime.
05:56What goes in your mind as a coach, being your self-expressed fast bowler?
06:01How do you tackle?
06:02Because there is so much of pressure, so much of cricket going on.
06:05You have to get away with injuries also.
06:08So what's your advice to a bowler like Jofra Archer
06:11or someone who's really bowling quick?
06:13What would you advise him?
06:15I always say it's not about how fast you bowl.
06:18Like it's about the ability to execute.
06:19I think if you look at Sandeep Sharma's, the classic case in point right,
06:22he bowls 120 to 125 k's, but if you can put the ball where you want
06:28and can stay calm under pressure, you can be a quality performer.
06:31Obviously, if you add the pace on and you do that,
06:33then you're a different kettle of fish,
06:35and Boomer shows that, you know, when you're bowling that fast.
06:38Look, the pressure, it is what it is.
06:40You can't focus on it.
06:42I always say to the boys, it's just, what do we want to do?
06:45What's our plan?
06:46You just have to take our planning and our preparation
06:49and do it in the game and enjoy it.
06:51And as you say, as a bowler, once you let the ball go, you have no control.
06:55You can bowl really good balls and get whacked for six
06:58and really poor balls and get a wicket.
07:00So I don't really judge my bowlers on who's getting wickets,
07:03and I say that.
07:04The wickets don't matter to me.
07:05What matters is that we bowl for each other.
07:08We bowl as a unit.
07:09We're selfless.
07:10And with the quality of bowlers we have,
07:12if we create enough pressure, somebody's going to get wickets.
07:15And if they don't, they won't score enough runs, and that's okay.
07:17So, yeah, as long as the boys are doing that,
07:20and Joff's been doing that.
07:21He hasn't got huge amounts of wickets.
07:22He's got wickets in the last game, the game before he bowled really well,
07:25and only got one.
07:26So, yeah, I'm just pleased with the way he's bowling.
07:29And to be fair, the bowling unit over the last couple of games
07:32has been really good.
07:33So I'm really happy about that.
07:36Your thoughts on this wicket in particular
07:38and on the wickets that you've seen so far this season in the APL?
07:41I think the score today is pretty big.
07:45This wicket's a bit different.
07:46It's, you know, sometimes it holds a bit.
07:49It can swing in the second innings.
07:50Then it gets wet, so it skids on.
07:52So I said to the boys here for this wicket,
07:55it's like you talk about four seasons in a day.
07:58This is like four seasons in a game.
07:59You know, and our ability to adjust to this wicket
08:02and when it changes, when the ball gets a little bit softer, wetter,
08:06then all of a sudden batting can become a little bit easier.
08:09So how we adjust to that is going to be really important out here.
08:13It's going to be dewy,
08:15but teams have still won more batting first than batting second.
08:18So the toss is almost irrelevant.
08:20We're just going to play well and adjust well.
08:22So, no, I think the bowlers always like to see a little bit of grass
08:26on the wicket, don't they?
08:27But practising here too, it's not a big ground and the ball flies.
08:31So, yeah, it's, you know, there's opportunities for everyone.
08:33We've just got to play better than they do.