Varun Aaron is confident Royal Challengers Bangalore’s tight bowling unit will see them past struggling Rajasthan Royals.
The teams meet today in the first of an Indian Premier League double header at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
RCB come into the match on the back of a painful two-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders, their first of the season, in a game in which victory had previously seemed certain.
Aaron, 24, had looked to have set the platform for his franchise to triumph after registering excellent figures of 3-16 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Despite being upset by the loss, the paceman praised the ability of RCB’s attack.
“Everybody is contributing to each other’s success in the team, especially the bowlers,” Aaron said.
“When [Mitchell] Starc and Albie [Morkel] bowl up front, if the wicket is stopping a touch, then they pass on the message to me and [Ashok] Dinda and it helps.
“Allan Donald, the bowling coach, told us to be aggressive and stick to what we have. T20 is unpredictable and one has to stick to the basics.”
RCB’s already fearsome batting line-up could be boosted by West Indies heavyweight Chris Gayle making his first appearance of the season, having been sidelined with a back complaint.
The franchise have refused to comment on Gayle’s availability.
Rajasthan have endured a disappointing opening to the season in the UAE, winning just one of their three matches.
In their last outing on Wednesday, they suffered a demoralising loss to Chennai Super Kings in Dubai.
A tight bowling performance had restricted their hotly-tipped opponents to 140-6 in their 20 overs.
But a shaky batting display then saw Rajasthan collapse to 133 all out, in an innings in which no partnership developed between 28 runs.
Captain Shane Watson took a “huge amount of the blame” for the result, after contributing just seven runs with the bat.
A half-century against Kings XI Punjab aside, the 32-year-old has endured a difficult few months after returning low scores in the other IPL matches and Australia’s dismal World Twenty20 campaign.
Despite Watson’s struggles, Rajasthan all-rounder Stuart Binny praised his impact as skipper.
“He is a vastly experienced guy and has also led his country,” he said.
“Since he is an all-rounder himself, he can understand both the batsmen and the bowlers, not only of his own team but also the opposition.
“Watson has also been great with some of the younger uncapped guys coming in from other franchises. They have really started to look up to him and I have seen him impart some words of wisdom to these boys. He has taken the responsibility on really admirably.”
