Mental toughness is the key

29th May 2008

With eleven victories, Rajasthan Royals sit pretty perched on the top as they have one more league game to go against Kings XI Punjab on May 28. Even though they were the first ones to storm into the knockout round they do not seem to treat any game lightly.

Darren Berry, the director of coaching for Rajasthan Royals, has indicated that the team is looking forward to have a "clean sweep".

"Our skipper Shane Warne is certainly not relaxing and winning each game is important for us," he was quoted as saying at the pre-match press conference.

The Shane Warne-led Jaipur team has evolved many younger players through the course of the tournament by giving them opportunities and not just relying on the big players.

Emphasizing this, Berry points out the performances of lesser known youngsters like Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the match against Mumbai Indians which the Jaipur team won by five wickets in a last-ball thriller.

Berry further expressed that his side treats the Yuvraj Singh-led Punjab side as a "challenge" and with a "lot of respect". He also mentioned that since verdicts for most of the matches have come out in the last over or sometimes even off the final ball, the team with the ability to handle the "mental pressure" will be the ultimate winner.

Performance coach Jeremy Snape seemed to echo Berry's point of view.

"Being mentally tough under pressure situations helps you. We also replicate pressure situations of big matches during the course of our practice sessions and it has yielded good results as our boys have emerged stronger under pressure," he said to the media.

"I think when you get to this level, most of the game becomes mental," Snape added.

Acknowledging Warne's effort for creating a "fantastic environment", he informed that since there was "no hierarchy in the team" the atmosphere in the camp has really been good.