The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Kallis, Uthappa take RCB to victory

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Kallis, Uthappa take RCB to victory

South African Du Preez makes impressive debut

Johannesburg: Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa both raced to breezy half-centuries and guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a nine-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match here on Sunday.

In reply to Mumbai Indians’ 149 for four, Kallis 69 (59 balls) and Uthappa 66 (42 balls) made the run chase look easy, reaching 150 for one with 11 balls to spare.

Kallis hit five fours and two sixes, while Uthappa scored eight boundaries and two huge sixes in their unbroken 126-run partnership that gave Royal Challengers Bangalore its third successive win in the tournament. Royal Challengers thus improved to fourth in the table with eight points from eight matches.

Rollicking start

Kallis started it all, treating Lasith Malinga with disdain with back to back sixes in the Sri Lankan speedster’s second and the innings’ fourth over.

Thereafter, runs flowed thick and fast and despite Wasim Jaffer departing early, Kallis and Uthappa ensured there would be no hiccups.

They also proved there were no demons in the wicket after Mumbai Indians made heavy weather at the start of the innings with debutant Dillon du Preez rocking the top order with three quick wickets.

It was the twin half-centuries from Dwayne Bravo and Sanath Jayasuriya that salvaged the Mumbai Indians’ innings and helped it post 149.

Important stands

Bravo stole the thunder of debutant du Preez’s three-wicket burst with two crucial half-century partnerships that steered Mumbai Indians to a competitive total after it was struggling at 53 for three at the half-way mark.

Bravo (50 off 40 balls) first shared 60 runs for the fourth-wicket with Jayasuriya 52 (43 balls).

He then teamed up with Abhishek Nayar to score a rapid 66 in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand to put du Preez’s brilliant opening spell into shade.

Preez’s prize

South African du Preez (three for 32) first picked up the wicket of Tendulkar (11), who was looking to cut loose with a couple of sweetly timed strokes that fetched boundaries.

The Mumbai Indians skipper, who opted to bat, chased a widish delivery only to find Rahul Dravid at slips.

Ajinkya Rahane guided du Preez to Uthappa off the next ball and the 27-year-old was on a hat-trick.

Close call

J.P. Duminy survived a leg before appeal but perished in Preez’s very next over, the ball kissing the inside edge and Mark Boucher taking a low catch behind the stumps.

While du Preez was rocking Mumbai Indians, Kallis and Praveen Kumar kept the opponent in shackles.

Paying the price

Jayasuriya took it upon himself to improve things. He hit du Preez for a boundary and six off successive deliveries. However, the 39-year-old fell trying to step on the gas.

He tried to hit van der Merwe’s first ball over the ropes only to hole out to R. Vinay Kumar at deep square leg. His 43-ball 52 contained six boundaries and a six. — PTI

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