'PK, Dale set the tone for us'

Bengaluru: All-rounder Jacques Kallis on Friday showered lavish praise on the bowlers for bundling out Rajasthan Royals for less than 100 runs in a crucial home tie and leading the way to a comfortable 10-wicket win.

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s senior pro spoke about the bowling plan that helped his side win their second back-to-back tie at home.

On Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn

Yeah it was very important for us to get off to a good start and Dale [Steyn] and PK [Praveen Kumar] set the tone for us early in the match. And we got the momentum going our way. Throughout the innings our guys did the job. I think the hat-trick is unbelievable. I think it was a great reward for the way this guy has bowled.

On plans working better than expected

Well anything can happen in Twenty20 cricket. We have seen that before. We had our plans in place and it worked. I think they worked probably better than we had thought. I think the execution was the key.

On the wicket

I think the wicket was perfect for a Twenty20 match. Our bowlers picked up the right line and length and then they stuck to that. The credit goes to the bowlers because sometimes when bowlers bowl in these conditions, they get carried away. I think our bowlers got enough balls in the right areas today.

On the bowlers’ line and length

I think up-front the bowlers realised that the wicket had some carry in it. We had a discussion [about the kind of] length [that] will be good for the wicket. Most of the Indian batsmen are not used to that kind of length […]

On his emergence as a T20 cricketer

I have worked hard on my cricket. I had succeeded in Test cricket and ODI cricket but I didn’t do well in the Indian Premier League especially in the first season. So I worked on my game and it feels good to be on the winning side. I changed a couple of technical things. I realised that one can’t be consistent in T20s and as long as one’s strike rate is good, it hardly matters. I really enjoy the T20 format.

On the next match

It is going to be a tough one. Considering the unpredictable nature of the format, it is hard to pick a favourite for the tie. We have the momentum going with us. In this format, the momentum is important and the guys will be keen to carry on the momentum.

On opening partner Manish Pandey

He is a very talented player. He is going to get better and better as he plays more cricket. He has improved his game from the last tour. If he carries on in the same fashion, he will end up scoring a lot of runs.