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Tag: Mike Hesson

  • Mike Hesson feels RCB is ticking along nicely as team after victory over LSG

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: After registering an 18-run win over Lucknow Super Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson said on Tuesday that the side is ticking along nicely and will continue to strive for improvement.

    Captain Faf Du Plessis regained form to hit a quick-fire 96 off just 64 deliveries and pacer Josh Hazelwood’s spell of 4/25 helped RCB gain an 18-run win against Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday.

    “We are ticking along pretty nicely as a team. Anuj and Faf have had three fifty-run partnerships that have been important for us. We have also had to bat in challenging conditions at times when we lost the toss and struggled to get underway. Faf came really good today and took the pressure off us when we lost early wickets. We are ticking along nicely but we will continue to try striving for improvement,” said Hesson in a post-match press conference.

    Hesson said that the side was pretty fortunate to get LSG captain’s KL Rahul’s wicket, who got dismissed by Harshal Patel for 30 in the eighth over of the game.

    “I would like to say that it was a pre-planned move, but it was not. We have had difficulties getting rid of KL Rahul. We were very happy to get that dismissal. Before that, we had made enough pressure from the scoring point of view,” he added.

    On Siraj not bowling during the death overs, Hesson said that the side has the flexibility to pick and choose as per the opposition and who is doing at a particular moment in time.

    “It is the beauty of our side that we have three very good death bowlers in Siraj, Hazelwood, and Siraj. Often they cover the final five overs. Today we felt that Siraj was doing a nice job. He got us a wicket, which is important. He was able to bowl nicely to the new batter. Ideally, we do not want two bowlers bowling the final over at the back-end, but today they did it. They did an excellent job,” added the Director of Cricket Operations for RCB.

    Coming to the match, put to bat first by LSG, RCB posted 181/6 in their 20 overs, largely powered by Plessis’s brilliant 96, well supported by brief but impactful innings from Shahbaz Ahmed (26) and Maxwell (23). For LSG, solid knocks from Krunal Pandya (42), KL Rahul (30), and Marcus Stoinis (24) kept the scoreboard ticking and hopes alive amid the consistent falling of wickets, but Hazelwood had the last laugh with his 4/25, who with Harshal Patel (2/47) ensured that the Giants fell 18-runs short of their fifth run in the tournament.

    RCB are at the second spot in the points table with 10 points and will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 23. On the other hand, LSG is at the fourth spot in the table and will take on Mumbai Indians on April 24.

  • Mike Hesson feels RCB is ticking along nicely as team after victory over LSG

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: After registering an 18-run win over Lucknow Super Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson said on Tuesday that the side is ticking along nicely and will continue to strive for improvement.

    Captain Faf Du Plessis regained form to hit a quick-fire 96 off just 64 deliveries and pacer Josh Hazelwood’s spell of 4/25 helped RCB gain an 18-run win against Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday.

    “We are ticking along pretty nicely as a team. Anuj and Faf have had three fifty-run partnerships that have been important for us. We have also had to bat in challenging conditions at times when we lost the toss and struggled to get underway. Faf came really good today and took the pressure off us when we lost early wickets. We are ticking along nicely but we will continue to try striving for improvement,” said Hesson in a post-match press conference.

    Hesson said that the side was pretty fortunate to get LSG captain’s KL Rahul’s wicket, who got dismissed by Harshal Patel for 30 in the eighth over of the game.

    “I would like to say that it was a pre-planned move, but it was not. We have had difficulties getting rid of KL Rahul. We were very happy to get that dismissal. Before that, we had made enough pressure from the scoring point of view,” he added.

    On Siraj not bowling during the death overs, Hesson said that the side has the flexibility to pick and choose as per the opposition and who is doing at a particular moment in time.

    “It is the beauty of our side that we have three very good death bowlers in Siraj, Hazelwood, and Siraj. Often they cover the final five overs. Today we felt that Siraj was doing a nice job. He got us a wicket, which is important. He was able to bowl nicely to the new batter. Ideally, we do not want two bowlers bowling the final over at the back-end, but today they did it. They did an excellent job,” added the Director of Cricket Operations for RCB.

    Coming to the match, put to bat first by LSG, RCB posted 181/6 in their 20 overs, largely powered by Plessis’s brilliant 96, well supported by brief but impactful innings from Shahbaz Ahmed (26) and Maxwell (23). For LSG, solid knocks from Krunal Pandya (42), KL Rahul (30), and Marcus Stoinis (24) kept the scoreboard ticking and hopes alive amid the consistent falling of wickets, but Hazelwood had the last laugh with his 4/25, who with Harshal Patel (2/47) ensured that the Giants fell 18-runs short of their fifth run in the tournament.

    RCB are at the second spot in the points table with 10 points and will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 23. On the other hand, LSG is at the fourth spot in the table and will take on Mumbai Indians on April 24.

    MUMBAI: After registering an 18-run win over Lucknow Super Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson said on Tuesday that the side is ticking along nicely and will continue to strive for improvement.

    Captain Faf Du Plessis regained form to hit a quick-fire 96 off just 64 deliveries and pacer Josh Hazelwood’s spell of 4/25 helped RCB gain an 18-run win against Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday.

    “We are ticking along pretty nicely as a team. Anuj and Faf have had three fifty-run partnerships that have been important for us. We have also had to bat in challenging conditions at times when we lost the toss and struggled to get underway. Faf came really good today and took the pressure off us when we lost early wickets. We are ticking along nicely but we will continue to try striving for improvement,” said Hesson in a post-match press conference.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Hesson said that the side was pretty fortunate to get LSG captain’s KL Rahul’s wicket, who got dismissed by Harshal Patel for 30 in the eighth over of the game.

    “I would like to say that it was a pre-planned move, but it was not. We have had difficulties getting rid of KL Rahul. We were very happy to get that dismissal. Before that, we had made enough pressure from the scoring point of view,” he added.

    On Siraj not bowling during the death overs, Hesson said that the side has the flexibility to pick and choose as per the opposition and who is doing at a particular moment in time.

    “It is the beauty of our side that we have three very good death bowlers in Siraj, Hazelwood, and Siraj. Often they cover the final five overs. Today we felt that Siraj was doing a nice job. He got us a wicket, which is important. He was able to bowl nicely to the new batter. Ideally, we do not want two bowlers bowling the final over at the back-end, but today they did it. They did an excellent job,” added the Director of Cricket Operations for RCB.

    Coming to the match, put to bat first by LSG, RCB posted 181/6 in their 20 overs, largely powered by Plessis’s brilliant 96, well supported by brief but impactful innings from Shahbaz Ahmed (26) and Maxwell (23). For LSG, solid knocks from Krunal Pandya (42), KL Rahul (30), and Marcus Stoinis (24) kept the scoreboard ticking and hopes alive amid the consistent falling of wickets, but Hazelwood had the last laugh with his 4/25, who with Harshal Patel (2/47) ensured that the Giants fell 18-runs short of their fifth run in the tournament.

    RCB are at the second spot in the points table with 10 points and will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 23. On the other hand, LSG is at the fourth spot in the table and will take on Mumbai Indians on April 24.

  • Bowling simulation: RCB’s Mike Hesson’s new game plan to deal with match pressure

    By IANS

    MUMBAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) director of cricket operations, Mike Hesson has credited his team’s win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL on March 30 to something he calls ‘bowling simulation’.

    RCB had defeated KKR by three wickets, chasing down the 128-run target with four balls to spare at the DY Patil Stadium.

    The team had undergone an exercise called ‘bowling simulation’ to help plan and execute with clarity under pressure. New RCB skipper Faf du Plessis explained it by saying that, the purpose of the exercise was to “work on two basic things. One is the field setting, and one is the different options you will bowl with that field setting”.

    RCB made a turnaround with the ball after the disappointment of the first game against Punjab Kings. One of the key aspects the team management identified as an area of improvement was the ability to execute plans under pressure. They managed to restrict KKR to a below-par score and then successfully chased down the target.

    “When the game is on the line, whether we are batting or bowling, it’s about how we deal with the game under pressure — the last 5 overs. So, a lot of what we did (was) all of the bowlers sitting with the captain, going through the fieldsets in terms of different options.

    “Obviously, no matter what option you have, what field you have, you have to have at least three options in terms of deliveries you can bowl. And then when you’re under pressure, how are you going to get out of that — whether you’re gonna split the over up, maybe change the field?” Hesson said on RCB Bold Diaries.

    One of the positives for RCB against KKR was the emergence of Akash Deep as a wicket-taking option.

    Speaking about the exercise, the Bengal and RCB pacer said, “The best thing is we got to bowl in open nets, and it was fun. We were given a plan to bowl to. It was made clear that we have to bowl to that plan, irrespective of whether we concede runs or not. It was fun because I had to bowl to a plan and a field that was given. I could execute a few balls well, and some not so much. But I was told not to think about whether or not runs are being conceded, but our job is to bowl to a plan and if we are conceding runs, it’s not an issue.”

    Akash added the exercise gave the players a lot of confidence.

    “We get plenty of confidence… whether or not it goes well, it gives you confidence. It felt quite good,” said Akash, who picked up three wickets against KKR.

  • Wanindu Hasaranga has been on our radar for a long time: RCB head coach Mike Hesson

    By ANI

    BENGALURU: Ahead of the resumption of Season 14 of the IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Mike Hesson on Saturday stated that Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga who replaced Adam Zampa was on the team’s radar for a long time.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Simon Katich has stepped down as head coach of the IPL side due to personal reasons and as part of the team’s business continuity plan, Mike Hesson will step in and discharge the duties of head coach for this season, in addition to his existing role of Director of Cricket Operations.

    “As a team RCB started the first half of the season well. We gained plenty of momentum and will certainly continue that progress in the season and a half. We are in a decent position but we also know that we have plenty of work to do,” Mike Hesson said in a virtual press briefing.

    Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanidu Hasaranga will now be part of RCB for the second leg of IPL 2021 in UAE. He replaced Adam Zampa. Hasaranga was the Player of the Series in the recently concluded Sri Lanka-India T20I series taking 7 wickets in 3 matches at an economy rate of 5.58.

    Talking about Hasaranga, Hesson said: “We have an extensive scouting program, Wanidu has been on our radar for a long time. We aren’t surprised by his success in recent times, he has been doing it for a while. We like his skill set. We like the fact that he is a multi-skill cricketer, so he offers us the ability to bat a little bit deeper as well. That gives us a lot of exciting options.”

    Rajesh Menon, Vice President and Head, Royal Challengers Bangalore talking about bubble protocol for RCB pointed: “In terms of bubble protocol we have a very tight protocol which is in place. This seven-day quarantine itself is what we have placed. The entire hotel staff, drivers are tested, everybody is part of the bubble. So it’s a complete secure bubble that we are getting into.”

    As IPL again goes to the UAE, Hesson shed some light on the team’s advantage. He said, “There are players on both sides who have played in that condition a year ago. We have got some good memories of the last time we were there. We made the playoffs, we played nicely.”

    Another Sri Lankan, Dushmantha Chameera also confirmed his place in the Banglore side. The fast bowler replaces Daniel Sams. Tim David who is no stranger to the T20 format replaced Finn Allen at RCB for the remainder of the season. After tasting success in T20 leagues around the world, the hard-hitting batsman and handy bowler will now test his skills in IPL.

    The Indian players, support staff and the team management will be assembling in Bengaluru on Saturday following which the team will undergo 7 days of quarantine and will undergo Covid tests for 3 days during the period. The team will then depart via a chartered flight from Bangalore on August 29. The other international players and staff will assemble in the UAE starting August 29 onwards. There will be another 6 days of quarantine in the UAE.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore resume Season 14 of the IPL on September 20 as they square off against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

  • Mike Hesson named RCB head coach as Simon Katich steps down

    By IANS

    BENGALURU: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) announced on Saturday that head coach Simon Katich has stepped down due to personal reasons. In place of him, director of cricket operations Mike Hesson will take over as head coach till the end of the season.

    “Simon Katich has decided to step down from his post as head coach and mainly due to personal reasons. We support his decision. Mike Hesson will step in and discharge the duties as head coach until the end of this tournament. Hesson has been coaching NZ team and other teams. Mike will step in until the end of the tournament,” said Rajesh Menon, vice-president and head, Royal Challengers Bangalore in the press conference.

    The franchise also said that they have signed Sri Lankan duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera apart from Singapore’s Tim David as replacement players.

    Leg-spinner Hasaranga is a replacement for Australia’s Adam Zampa, who had pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons. He was impressive in the three-match T20I series against India, taking seven wickets at an economy rate of 5.58.

    Chameera replaces Zampa’s country-mate Daniel Sams, who has pulled out along with Kane Richardson. He was the second-highest wicket-taker after Hasaranga, taking four wickets at an economy rate of 5.25.

    Tim David comes in place of New Zealand’s Finn Allen, who along with fellow Kiwi Scott Kuggeleijn will be unavailable as they will be on national duty in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

    David has represented Singapore in 14 T20Is, scoring 558 runs at an average of 46.5. He amassed 279 runs at a strike-rate of 153.29 for the Hobart Hurricanes in the 2020/21 Big Bash League. He is currently in England and scored two centuries and a half-century in his last four matches in Surrey’s run to the semi-final in the Royal London One-day Cup.

    “Finn Allen and Scott Kuggeleijn have both been selected for NZ tours and they won’t be part of RCB. Kane Richardson has made himself unavailable as has Daniel Sams. So, therefore, the balance of our squad has changed dramatically,” said Hesson.

    He added, “We have made a lot of purchases which opened up four-five days ago. We’ve replaced Adam Zampa with Wanindu Hasaranga. Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera has got plenty of pace. Finn Allen leaving, we have decided to strengthen our middle-order. Tim David has joined our squad. A power-play player can become straight swap for Maxwell and de Villiers.”

  • Devdutt Padikkal likely to play against SunRisers Hyderabad: Mike Hesson

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Mike Hesson, Director of Cricket, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has said that opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal is likely to play against the SunRisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

    Ahead of IPL 2021, Padikkal had tested positive for Covid-19 and he was undergoing home quarantine. After returning three negative Covid-19 tests, he joined RCB’s team bubble in Chennai.

    “Devdutt Padikkal has come back nicely, he would be fully fit so he will be considered for the game against SunRisers, and most likely, he would play. Finn Allen has come out of quarantine and looks in great touch, we would have Zampa and Richardson back heading into the next game as well, they will get out the day of the game,” Hesson said in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of RCB.

    Padikkal played his first season for RCB last year and he managed to leave a good impression after scoring 473 runs from 15 matches at an average of 31.53 with his best score being 74.

    Harshal had delivered a stunning bowling performance before AB de Villiers’ masterclass took RCB home against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening game of IPL. Harshal had picked five wickets (three in the final over) to restrict Rohit Sharma’s side to 159.

    “Look, we are very happy with the start we had, I think we deserved to win the game against Mumbai Indians. We did a lot of hard work, I guess the only thing is we would have wanted to finish the game off against Mumbai two or three wickets down, it was a great partnership between Virat and Maxwell. When we look back at the game, we have got few little areas to improve upon and that is great. We did a lot of things really well, obviously with the ball and with a partnership in the middle,” said head coach Simon Katich.

    “It was an interesting wicket, the first one. It certainly wasn’t that easy to bat on. The quality of the bowling was really good, it will all depend on the pace of the wicket. It certainly was on the slower side and difficult to score,” he added.

    RCB will take on SunRisers Hyderabad here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium later today in the IPL 2021.

  • IPL 2021:  AB de Villiers may keep wickets for RCB this season

    By ANI
    BENGALURU: Mike Hesson, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Director of Cricket has said that AB de Villiers will once again be a wicketkeeping option for the franchise in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

    RCB is set to play the IPL 2021 opener against Mumbai Indians on April 9 in Chennai. For a few matches last year, AB de Villiers donned the wicketkeeping gloves and he is expected to do the same this year if it fixes the balance of the playing XI.

    “We were delighted with the fact that Ab de Villiers loved wicketkeeping and he embraced it. He wanted to continue doing it, he is a real option, we now have a couple of other wicketkeeping options which is great. Mohammed Azharuddeen is a natural athlete with the gloves and in the field. We also have KS Bharat, he is a natural keeper, gives us different options as well,” said Hesson in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of RCB.

    “We are not going to make the commitment now to you guys as to who will do what. We are really pleased with the options we have got and AB is certainly one of those,” he added.

    RCB’s training camp will begin on March 29 for the upcoming edition of the IPL. Hesson earlier had said that AB de Villiers will arrive on March 28 for the upcoming IPL.

    “We have got players arriving all the way through till April 1. Finn Allen will be playing in T20I in New Zealand on April 1 and then he will come the day after… ABD arrives on 28,” he said.

    Hesson also said: “It is very different than the last year where we had everybody together for a long period of time on the back of a period where the guys had not trained or played. So, this time it is different, we got players playing international cricket over here and overseas and domestic cricket up until a hand full of days ago. So, we had to prepare in slightly different ways.”

    The final of the 14th edition of the tournament will be played on May 30 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Playoffs will also be played at the same venue.