Chennai, May 11 (IANS): Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Donovan Ferreira believes his side just needs to focus on what they can do ahead of an important Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 clash against Chennai Super Kings at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
With CSK missing three fast bowlers in Mustafizur Rahman (international duty), Matheesha Pathirana (hamstring injury) and Deepak Chahar (groin injury), they managed to beat Punjab Kings by 28 runs in Dharamsala. But after CSK suffered a 35-run loss to Gujarat Titans, RR will be fancied to get those crucial two points and secure their knockouts qualification.
“For any team, losing three primary bowlers wouldn’t be ideal. But it’s a game of cricket; any guy can bowl well, and anyone can do the job. So, it’s just that we have to focus on what we can do, analyse their bowlers, and see who we can take down.”
“Obviously, this is a different wicket, and the conditions are different as well. It’s important for us to not focus too much on what they’ve been doing but on what we can do best. Like I said, any guy can bow well or bat well when they have a good plan and structure in place,” said Ferreira in the pre-match press conference.
The Sanju Samson-led RR were leading the IPL 2024 points table till their consecutive defeats to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals resulted in them now being in second place in the points table.
“We should have already qualified for the playoffs by now. IPL is a long tournament and I think the second half is the most important. We’ve set it up perfectly by winning a lot of games in the first half. We still have three games to go but the one against CSK is important as well. We don’t want to leave it too late and put pressure on ourselves.”
“So, winning the next game not only means qualification but it also gives us a chance to finish top two. Any game you play against Chennai is a big game. They have a really good side. But I hope that we get over the line tomorrow by playing the way we’ve been playing,” added Ferreira.
The South African all-rounder signed off by reckoning local lad and veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will play a key role for RR in Sunday’s match to be played under sweltering Chennai heat. "Obviously, this is a turning track. So, Ashwin will play a big role with Chahal tomorrow. Fortunately, most of our training schedule has been in the afternoon, so we are kind of used to the heat. But it's not possible to replicate the match intensity in training."