The Hindu : Sport : Royal Challengers takes on Kings XI

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Royal Challengers takes on Kings XI

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Bangalore: The last time Royal Challengers Bangalore played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the team was going through a low phase in the Indian Premier League's inaugural edition.

And on May 28, 2008, RCB lost to Mumbai Indians here and eventually finished seventh.

In the latest edition, when the team clashes with Kings XI Punjab here on Tuesday afternoon, Anil Kumble's men need to click so that Bangaloreans can enjoy their annual ‘Ugadi' festivities with extra relish.

Unlike in 2008 when defeat trailed the team, RCB is now expected to do well despite opening its current campaign with a loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.

The tide turned in South Africa last year with Kumble guiding his team to the final. For RCB though the immediate concern will be a top-order that tumbled at Kolkata while Jacques Kallis remained a solid exception.

With the likes of Dale Steyn and Kumble in its bowling mix, RCB needs its batsmen to find their runs to mount a challenge.

Batting woes

Squaring UP against the host is a team that has similar batting issues. Except for Ravi Bopara's 56, the rest including King's XI skipper Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif failed to take flight in a lost cause against Delhi Daredevils.

The bowling will miss an injured Brett Lee while S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan, regulars at the National Cricket Academy here, will have to cope with a varied batting counter-point ranging from the correct Rahul Dravid to the unconventional Eoin Morgan.

Meanwhile, RCB coach Ray Jennings gave a big thumbs-up to his team's skipper.

“Please don't under-estimate Kumble. His body and rhythm are far better than even when he was in South Africa and even at his age, he has a lot to offer,” Jennings said ahead of the match against King's XI Punjab.

Jennings said the players in RCB have evolved well. “We are looking at the younger lot like Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Virat Kohli to develop and even the senior players have adapted well.

“Some time back Dravid was not a Twenty20 player but right now he has a good strike rate. We want to use the skills of Dravid and Jacques Kallis and weave the rest around them,” Jennings said and added that his team wanted to be ‘ruthless in front of the home crowd on Tuesday.'

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara hoped that his batsmen would find their runs. “We go in with seven batsmen and ideally everyone should contribute and if the key batsmen can score, it will help the team,” the Kings XI Punjab captain said.

Sangakkara said the team had not played to potential against Delhi Daredevils and remained optimistic about Yuvraj Singh, who is coping with a wrist injury.

“What Yuvraj hits with one hand, we struggle to do with two hands. He is fine and has practised hard,” Sangakkara said.

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