Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble delighted with his veteran stars after a comprehensive win over Mumbai Indians
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble delighted with his veteran stars after a comprehensive win over Mumbai Indians
Last season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore became a butt of jokes for selecting Test specialists for the Twenty20 competition. Even the franchise owner Vijay Mallya resented the combination chosen.
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Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble celebrates his side's win over Mumbai Indians at the Wanderers in Johannesburg |
To balance his team, Mallya spent a fortune at this season's auction to buy the so-called limited overs specialist Kevin Pietersen, and, publicly announced that Royal Challengers could no longer be called a Test team.
It is ironic, however, that the Test players that he despised last season are the ones who have been the main performers for the team so far in this edition.
Bottom to topIt was the Test specialists' team of Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Wasim Jaffer, all of whom who were deemed unfit for this format last season, which routed Mumbai Indians at the Wanderers yesterday. With their nine-wicket win over MI, Challengers leapfrogged into the top four of the competition with eight points from eight games.u00a0
After a poor start under the leadership of Pietersen, RCB have really come into their own under the captaincy of Kumble, winning both the games under him. Kumble has been brilliant with the ball as well. Former captain Rahul Dravid has been their best batsman and Kallis was the man of the match in yesterday's game.
"You need quality players to do well in any form of the game. It's about adjusting your game," said Kumble.
MI were never allowed to get into the game. Dillon Du Preez struck three big blows to get Bangalore off to a dream start with the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Ajinkya Rahane and JP Duminy, reducing Indians to 23 for three. In spite of fighting half-centuries by Sanath Jayasuriya and Dwayne Bravo, MI could not break the shackles imposed by the Bangalore bowlers and finished on 149 for four in 20 overs.
149 not enough"I always felt 149 was not enough. If they batted well, they would get to it. Bangalore played good cricket and deserved to win," said MI skipper Tendulkar.u00a0
With Kallis and Robin Uthappa in good form, Tendulkar's worst fears came true. Kallis hit an unbeaten 69 off 59 balls while Uthappa smashed 66 not out off 42 as RCB eased past the target.
MI's main problem has been consistency. They are brilliant one day and mediocre the next. Every win has been followed by a defeat. "The needed confidence and momentum in our batting hasn't been there yet. Match form is important and we are working towards that," said Tendulkar. "The second half will be tougher as all teams are planning different things."
Kumble called it a perfect game for Challengers. "It was a perfect game for us. Beating Mumbai comprehensively by nine wickets was crucial and we would like to take this momentum into our next games."
