IPL 5: Balaji credits Kallis, Lee for good show

Bangalore: Laxmipathy Balaji, Man of the Match in Kolkata Knight Riders' first win of IPL 5, has credited Jacques Kallis and Brett Lee for their bowling performances, which he thought helped him in picking up four wickets in the success over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday. "One should give credit to Kallis and Lee for starting the game plan well. Kallis, in fact, got us the initial breakthrough helping our team in getting momentum ... that really helped my rhythm to pick four wickets," he told reporters here.
Balaji said Tuesday's win was a huge psychological boost for KKR though with plenty to go in the tournament it was still early days. "Every win in the IPL makes you to believe in yourself. As long as momentum and positive attitude keeps going, you have to make sure that things come into your pocket. This win was a must for us and definitely it is a good start," he said. "[In the] Last stages of the league matches, definitely there will be some surprises. You cannot take any team easy. The tournament will be alive for six weeks."

Balaji said KKR bowling coach Wasim Akram and Australian pacer Lee were great influences on the entire attack. "These two [Lee and Akram] really mean [a lot] to our bowling line-up. They share [a] lot of things that they have come up with and that kind of helping hand motivates every young player in the team," he said.