We are still in mix: Dravid

Published Fri, Apr 09 10 10:24 PM

Bangalore, Apr 9 (PTI) Their campaign has gone off the track after four defeats in five matches but Rahul Dravid is confident that Royal Challengers Bangalore will bounce back in the Indian Premier League, which is witnessing a keen tussle for the semifinal spots. RCB will lock horns with equally desperate Kolkata Knight Riders at home ground tomorrow. "I think we are still in the mix. We started off really well winning four out of five games to position ourselves at the top of the table. We haven''t played the way we would have liked to in the last four or five games. But the good start is helping us now. "Hopefully, we are in the mix as anyone else. We have to play good cricket from here on. We can''t afford to lose too any game now," Dravid said on the eve of the crucial match. "We are playing with teams that are competing for the spots with you, almost all are must win games," he added. Dravid sounded a warning for Kolkata saying they will be an altogether different team tomorrow. "It should be a good contest because both the teams are in the middle of the table and need to win against each other. I see this as a really important game. Most teams need to win 7-8 games, preferably 8. "If you are playing a team which is so close to you, you have to win that game. They have got a good team. With the quality of players we have, definitely we can bounce back. "We are disappointed with what has happened in the last two weeks and are keen to bounce back. Tomorrow you will see a side which is determined to stay in the tournament," he said Though Ganguly has been laid low with an ankle injury, Dravid felt the former Indian captain would play tomorrow. "He is a very important player for KKR, I think they are going to play him with just four matches to go before semifinals. We are going to prepare ourselves thinking that he is going to play. I see no other reasons to think otherwise." Dravid said it was disappointing that they could not defend a good total of 184 against Deccan Chargers. "I think 184 was a good total and it was disappointing not to defend that. Credit to them and they took chances and it paid off. We could have bowled a little better in the middle and end overs. "Having said that we have some quality bowlers in our line-up. All the five bowlers who took part on Thursday are internationals. They have consistently taken field for us in this tournament. We had some bad days, but we can definitely bounce back," he said. Asked if RCB had peaked a little too early, Dravid said, "Everytime is a right time to win. Looking back it''s nice that we have that cushion. We started off so well that we could afford to drop a few points. But now the cushion factor is gone now. "You can see we won five and lost five. We can''t afford to lose any more games from now on. Certainly we have to peak right now." PTI JH AT

Source: Web Search