Lack of quality fifth bowler worries Vettori

Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, has said the lack of a quality fifth bowler was an important factor in his team's 59-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Royals chose to bat and scored 195 for 2, with Ajinkya Rahane scoring 103 and Owais Shah 60.

They scored 70 in the 12 overs bowled by Zaheer Khan, Daniel Vettori and Muttiah Muralitharan, and 120 in the remaining eight overs. Chris Gayle conceded 21 in one over, Vinay Kumar 51 in four and S Aravind 48 in three overs.

"The problem is that we could not get through the overs from our fifth bowler. It is something we must rectify as it has hurt us in every game," Vettori said. "We need to work hard on that fifth bowler, as teams are being very aggressive and we are not getting the results that we need to compete."

In their previous game in Chennai, Virat Kohli conceded 28 in the penultimate over and Royal Challengers failed to defend 205. They are presently second last in the league, having lost three out of four games.

Vettori also said he was disappointed with his middle-order batsmen. "There's a lot of expectation on the top four but they can't do it every time, so they guys in the middle need to step up. We must find a solution quickly as we play Pune [Warriors] in a day and we need to get back to winning ways."

Royals batsman, Shah, whose 60 came off 26 balls, credited Rahane for the win and praised his batting style. "There is a calmness about him that shows he's always in control," Shah said. "He plays the ball very late and times the ball beautifully. He's got a bright future ahead of him."