Mahela Jayawardene happy to see Ross Taylor back in form

Delhi Daredevils suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore, but the stand-in skipper Mahela Jayawardene has a few positives to draw out.

After the game, the classy right-hander stated that the return to form of Ross Taylor was one of the positive aspects for the Delhi side.

Taylor was struggling with his form before he smashed a wonderful half-century against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday night.

Although his 55-run-knock was not enough for the Delhi side to grab the victory, Jayawardene believes that in-form Taylor will be very important for the side in the next round.

Batting first, the Royal Challengers posted a massive total of 215 on the board. Chris Gayle was star of the show, as he smashed an aggressive innings of 128 runs from just 62 balls.

In reply, no Delhi batsman could play a long innings except Taylor who added quick 55 runs to the total. As a result, the Delhi side suffered a 21-run loss.

"Ross [Taylor] getting back to form is good for us ahead of the playoffs. It’s a small ground and our bowling options were limited. Maybe we could have executed some of our plans better," Jayawardene said of the New Zealander.

A disappointing loss just before the playoffs was a huge setback for the Daredevils, who are being considered as hot favourite.

Despite expressing disappointment over his side’s slightly below par performance against the Bangalore outfit, Jayawardene was hopeful of regaining the winning momentum soon.

"We have been doing very well through the tournament, and we want to continue the momentum in the coming matches," added the Sri Lankan.

He also lavished special praise on Chris Gayle who single-handedly took the game away from the Delhi franchise. The Lankan captain shared the even though it was a small ground, no one can take anything away from the Caribbean
superstar.

"It’s a small ground and it was difficult for our bowlers, but Chris attacked very well. You can’t take anything back from him," he said.

Despite a defeat, the Delhi side is sitting on top of the standings with 20 points. The side will play its last league match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on May 18 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry