The Royal Challengers Bangalore are a dynamic team. They have an explosive batting order and big names in that list with reputations as proven match-winners. Ahead of their first game of Pepsi IPL 2015 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, Captain Virat Kohli acknowledged the fact that his side was looking a lot more balanced and complete in comparison to the last couple of seasons.

“We have got a much more balanced team, probably the most balanced that we have had,” Kohli said. “The Indian batting was something that we were lacking in the past few editions. But now with four or five (Indian) youngsters coming into the middle order, it has really strengthened our batting.

We bat deep now. The combination is right but at the same time we have to play some good cricket. Hopefully this one is the season for us.

” Elaborating further on his side’s batting prowess, Kohli was of the view that the big names in his side will be playing an expressive brand of cricket this year. “This season you will probably see myself, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers expressing ourselves more than ever. We have good depth in our batting and we have got good resources this time, so we can start to bat freely.

In the last two, three years we batted under more pressure as compared to other teams because we were top heavy. We had to mix caution and aggression. I am not saying that we will blindly go and swing the bat but you will probably see the guys more relaxed in expressing themselves and be confident in what they want to execute.

We won’t have as many second thoughts as probably we would have had in the last couple of seasons.” When asked if the big-hitting Chris Gayle was fit and raring to go, Kohli said, “Yesterday we saw him run and bat and field. That is probably the fittest I have seen him over the last three years.

It was pleasing to see him run around and be agile and very active in practice. He being fit is always a boost for us and it is a thing to think about for the opposition because he can field, bat and bowl. It is a big positive for us.

” While Kohli was sure of his team’s batting depth this time around, he was equally confident of his bowlers, though they were sans Australia speedster Mitchell Starc and New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne. The RCB captain expressed hope that the young Australian quick Sean Abbott would grab this opportunity with both hands in their absence. “Sean is as talented a bowler as anyone that you want to pick in T20 cricket.

He bats well; he is a power hitter and bowls really well at the death. He is a complete cricketer and to have someone like that at number 7 or 8 is obviously a huge advantage for any team. We will miss Mitchell Starc at the start of the tournament but Starc coming fresh at the business end or in the middle of the tournament is going to be a huge boost for us.

It also gives Sean an opportunity to come into the IPL and show what he has got, perform and become more confident as a cricketer.”Focussing on his side’s Indian bowling contingent, Kohli added, “Our plus point is that we have good Indian fast bowlers in Varun Aaron, Ashok Dinda, Abu Nechim, Harshal Patel and Sandeep Warrier. Varun and Abu bowl at a very good pace.

Abu is a very good death bowler. So we have got a lot of options. We have Iqbal Abdulla as well this year with Yuzvendra Chahal, which gives Chahal a bit more relaxed atmosphere to bowl.

Last time he was under too much pressure. We have got the right balance; we just need to keep the guys relaxed and as confident as possible. I think that’s the trick in the IPL.

We have got the bowling resources for sure and it is how we use them at different stages in the IPL.”.

Source: http://www.iplt20.com/news/2015/more-news/5835/preview-m4-csk-vs-srh