Ahead of a must win match for the RCB, espnstar.com caught up with their buccaneering batsman Ross Taylor for a quick one-on-one.

By Dominic Franks

Describing the spirit prevailing in the RCB camp after their heart-breaking loss to the Cape Cobras in the first match of the Champions League Twenty20, Taylor was cool and confident, "We're all upbeat and raring to go. We know we're still in the tournament. It's a big game for us and we know exactly what we need to do to beat the Otago Volts."

Ross Taylor was quick to add that the Royal Challengers aren't taking their opponents lightly, "I think they're a good side. Obviously they're very disappointed with the way they played the last game, but I think they have nothing to lose, and playing a team that's got nothing to lose is always going to be dangerous."

With all the three IPL teams losing their opening games, Taylor had this to say about the theory doing the rounds that IPL teams will always be hampered by their lack of playing time together (when compared to the remaining nine teams in the tournament who play together through the year). "I think it has a little bit to do with it, but not a lot though. There's still no excuse for losing. We just have to come together as a team and I'm sure if we do that we'll have a successful tournament."

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Taylor was effusive in his praise for the high octane vocal support that the Royal Challengers receive each time they play at the Chinnaswamy stadium, "The Bangalore crowd is just amazing. We've only played one home game here this season and the atmosphere was simply incredible." Alluding to the second edition of the IPL Taylor said, "Obviously in South Africa we didn't have any home games, but to play in front of forty, fifty thousand screaming fans is a fantastic experience, and it's great to be a part of that. Hopefully, they'll all be out again and this time we won't disappoint them."

With that, the swashbuckling Samoan smiled affably and spent the next five minutes not disappointing the dozen young autograph hunters who had spent a lot of time waiting for their hero.

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