The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : RCB looking for revenge

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RCB looking for revenge

Durban: Having lost the previous encounter against Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore will aim to make amends when the two sides take on each other for the second time in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.

Under Kevin Pietersen, Royal Challengers started off with a win against Rajasthan Royals but then lost four matches on the trot before pulling off a narrow win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.

With Pietersen leaving for national duty, there is uncertainty surrounding as to who will be his successor. Coach Ray Jennings’s pre-tournament back-up plan of having Jacques Kallis at the helm may not be used given the all-rounder’s patchy form. The South African has struggled to find a regular place in the team so far.

Batting nightmare

On the batting front, Challengers has tried different combinations in the opening slot but still not found a stable pair.

Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Robin Uthappa — all have been a failure and even middle order batsmen like Jacques Kallis and Virat Kohli are far from being consistent.

With the exception of Rahul Dravid, who has been on leave to attend to his newborn child, the batting has been a letdown for the Bangalore team.

The Royal Challengers’ bowling looks equally lacklustre. An inconsistent Dale Steyn has been in and out of the squad and only Praveen Kumar (6) and Anil Kumble (8) have been among the wickets.

Winning sequence

In contrast, Kings has been in great form, winning three matches on the trot after being on the receiving end of bad weather against Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Although its batting looks a bit inconsistent, Kumar Sangakkara has made sure it reaches the safe zone every time his side has had its back to the wall.

Ravi Bopara has played some crucial innings at the top and with all-rounder Irfan Pathan making himself counted, things have worked out quite well for the Mohali team.

Among the bowlers, pacer Yusuf Abdulla has wrecked havoc, while leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has managed the spin department well.

The only concern for Punjab is the form of skipper Yuvraj Singh, whose bat has been surprisingly silent since the start of the tournament. — PTI

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