Bengaluru, March 30 (IANS) Vyshak Vijaykumar, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fast bowler, said mixing up variations with pace after seeing the first innings helped him be the standout bowler for the franchise, who suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders.

At the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Vyshak came in as an Impact Substitute and took 1-23 in his four overs, where he mixed his variations and lines to good effect. He stood out in a wayward RCB bowling show, where Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, and Alzarri Joseph gave away 126 runs in nine overs collectively.

“When I saw in the first innings, they were mixing it up really well. The ones that were banged in and short and which were slower, it was a little tough for, Virat bhai to score. So, obviously, if he couldn’t score, I knew that if I put it right there, nobody could score.”

“So, I just thought I’ll do that, mix up my variations with some yorkers, hard length and some bouncers. So, I was just trying to mix up with the pace, and I think that’s what helped me,” said Vyshak in the post-match press conference. Asked about how he went about his bowling, Vyshak said, “You look at the batter, like what he’s trying to do. We go back, do some homework and see lots of previous games on what they do and are trying to do.”

“We do talk about it and have two-three variations to keep in mind on what the batter will try to do. When you start the run-up, you always think about what to do and if he’s moving around, then you can change something and if not, I will stick to my strengths.”

He also credited the new player in the RCB set-up for helping him learn a lot about himself and his bowling. “I’ve been working hard in the nets with coaches. I have learned quite a bit with new players coming in, like Alzarri (Joseph), (Cameron) Green, (Reece) Topley and Lockie (Ferguson) has helped my bowling quite a bit.”

Vyshak signed off by saying dew was a factor in KKR completing the chase of 183 by the 17th over. “It was a little easier to bat in the second innings, as the ball was coming on to the bat nicely because of the dew and under lights. We also had a bit more pace than them, so it helped them, and these things happen in a game of cricket. Hopefully, we can get more wickets in coming games.”