Time to put our fate back into our hands

Discipline, organisation and patience are all valuable virtues on the field but they are equally important off the field during a run of fixtures like we are coming to the end of now. It can be tiring and relentless unless you are on top of your game emotionally and it’s really important that you pick up a few wins along the way.

We’ve had a couple of unusual games already this tournament and Saturday’s 10-over match was yet another.

I’m not sure we could have done very much better or different against Bangalore. We put a decent score on the board and bowled well to defend it. You can always look back and see a missed boundary or a ball which could have been bowled better, but this game is not a perfect science. Still, it was good to catch up with AB after the match. We haven’t seen each other since the World Cup so there was much to discuss.

Every day tests something about you during a spell like this. Packing and unpacking your bags can be a challenge in itself. As I’m sure everyone knows, the longer you are on the road the larger and more difficult everything becomes.

Unusually early or late starts don’t help and neither does the amount of time inevitably spend waiting around at airports. Recovery sessions in the pool, physio and massage for the players and then doing everything possible to have a good night’s sleep. I think the biggest problem with sleep is worrying about it, but it’s unavoidable. The more you need one, the more anxious you are to get one.

Sitting on the bus or walking through the airport terminal can make you feel like a fish in a bowl, so many pairs of eyes focussed on you. It is a novelty for the young players and the IPL first-timers, and can even be intimidating. But the majority of the squad is used to it and fully appreciate the fact that fans and supporters would like to ‘meet and greet’.

Anybody who travels regularly will know that most of the time you just want to put your head down, close your eyes and get from A to B, but we must be conscious of the KKR brand and the fact that, for many people, it will be their one and only chance to meet us. So 100 autographs and ‘selfies’ later, we finally get on board the plane. No complaints whatsoever – it’s just a little tiring.

The setback against the Challengers has, for the first time, made our position on the log a little vulnerable. It’s seriously time to put our fate firmly back into our own hands with some wins.

(Gameplan/Hawkeye)