IPL 2012: Rajasthan Royals have to win almost all their matches, says Shreevats Goswami

Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami on Wednesday said his side must win all their remaining matches to qualify for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2012 playoffs without any hassle.

Rajasthan slipped to sixth position in the IPL points table after they suffered their second consecutive defeat in the tournament at the hands of table-toppers Delhi Daredevils.

Goswami said, “If we would have won the last match [against DD] it would have made a lot of things easier for us, because then we would have been on 10 points and with Pune [Warriors India] losing today we could have been on No.3 or 2 in the points table.

He added, “Now we have got to win almost all the matches to qualify or maybe we can just afford to lose one match [at the most] and win the rest of them.”

After being provided a solid start by the openers Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane, Rajasthan Royals suffered a batting collapse against a disciplined Delhi bowling attack.

Along with Dravid and Rahane, Goswami was the only batsman to reach the two figure mark apart from the two openers.

“We had a good start, but we couldn’t capitalize on the start. Losing wickets in T20 is obviously not easy. We had built a good momentum, but after that we lost two-three wickets in succession, so we lost the momentum,” Goswami said.

The Rajasthan wicketkeeper also admitted that the Delhi bowlers bowled well and maintained the pressure throughout the innings. “Their bowlers did bowl well, but we could have been more sensible in the middle overs. And if we could have kept wickets in hand and worked on taking singles and batted sensibly, then it would have been better for us,”  he said.

Looking at the wicket, Goswami had expected Royals to take the total way beyond what they finally managed to achieve. “The wicket was good. It is a batting track. You can easily get a score of 160-170 on this wicket. It is a big ground, so if one side can pile on runs, then it is difficult to chase. I think 170-180 with the start that we got and on this wicket would have been a par score. This is not an easy ground to chase [on]. And we have found it difficult to chase, because it is a big ground. We could have scored [runs] more in twos and threes instead of hitting fours and sixes,” he added while talking to the official website of Indian Premier League

Goswami didn’t feel it was a mental battle after losing a close match against the opponents just a few days back. “We could have won that match with the way we were going. But still after the loss there, we came in good spirits here and wanted to win this match. But then, it didn’t go our way,” Goswami said

The Rajasthan Royals’ wicketkeeper-batsman is not too bothered by his personal form with the bat and behind the stumps. “I have been doing good. I have no complaints about myself. Looking back, I could say that in two matches, I could have done a bit better. Otherwise, I have been fine and keeping has been good,” he said 

With two days of rest, Goswami is all geared up for the clash against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali.