We felt if we hit hard lengths then it was difficult to score: Mike Hesson

Lucknow Super Giants failed to chase down the total of 182 runs, thanks to a disciplined bowling show from Royal Challengers Bangalore in the death overs. Josh Hazlewood was impossible to hit in the death overs as was Harshal Patel, who ended up with two wickets in four overs. The combined effort paid dividends and RCB Head Coach cum Director Mike Hesson believed that they were able to execute their plans of hitting the hard lengths successfully.

"If the spinners hit the hard lengths it was actually like a tennis-ball bounce. So it was quite hard to hit down the ground. So it was about trying to manoeuvre the ball. Obviously, if you are able to hit with the spin then it was much easier. And if the bowlers over-tossed then you had the opportunity to hit them down the ground but if they hit a good length it was very difficult to score. Until a little bit of sheen came on the wicket and it became a little bit easier towards the back end," Mike Hesson said about the challenge of facing spin.

RCB bowlers landed most of their balls on the hard length in the middle and death overs, cutting the off-side field to a major extent. Even when the LSG batters decided to approach the innings with a little more fluidity, they continued to lose wickets, falling under the trap of RCB's well-laid plans.

"We felt if we hit hard lengths then it was difficult to score. We were able to control our length and if we did that - with both spin and pace - then we were going to be able to create some run-rate pressure. So it was all about lengths for us, in terms of our spinners bowling hard into the wicket and our seamers hitting that back of a length and trying to get guys hitting us down the ground off a good length," Hesson said.

Currently, with five wins from seven games, Royal Challengers Bangalore stand at the second position on the table and are differentiated from table-toppers Gujarat Titans only on the basis of NRR.