IPL heating up; no room for complacency now

Monday's performance against the Bangalore Royal Challengers was pretty much a perfect game for us. We bowled really well, putting them under pressure from the word go, fielded solidly and then batted brilliantly, finishing the game in a clinical fashion.

The Royal Challengers may have been languishing at the bottom of the table but we knew it was still a crucial game for us as we needed to pick-up the points. It was one of those matches where your position as the favourites can add some extra pressure. They have some very dangerous players.

Fortunately then, right from the outset, we put them under pressure with Sreesanth grabbing an early breakthrough and then also snaring Misbah ul Haq, one of the key scalps for us. From there onwards we maintained the pressure and retained our control.

Special mention though to VRV Singh. Any bowler that returns one for15 in four overs during a T20 game has done an amazing job. Moreover, he did that bowling in the late stages of the innings, skilfully bowling yorkers and containing their batsmen.

The batting was dominated by Shaun (Marsh). He was exceptional, as he has been since the first game he played. He grabbed his opportunity after missing the first few games, giving us the kind of anchor we need, especially with Kumar (Sangakkara) still out injured.

Watching him go about his batting here you can see why he has been scoring so heavily for Western Australia, and why he has now broken into the Australia ODI squad. He bats in an efficient, orthodox manner, not taking too many risks. But he does have the shots and can suddenly up the tempo, as he did in the one over against Dale Steyn.

As for Luke (Pomersbach), we all knew he could hit the ball powerfully. When he walks into the nets at practice you watch very carefully and avoid the unprotected areas for fear of injury. He showed that ferocious power against Bangalore, rushing us home. He provides us with another great option.

Tonight's Delhi Daredevils is a huge clash for us. The tournament is really heating up and there is no room for complacency. Including tonight's match, we still have five games and the mid-table teams still have a chance of qualifying. We will start afresh and will hopefully continue the momentum from Monday.