Someone probably reminded Royal Challengers Bangalore just in time that catches win matches.
This aspect of cricket has been extremely pathetic in this tournament but on Thursday, Anil Kumble’s team not only held on to what came their way but also attacked the ball and plucked a couple out of thin air.
Royals, took eight catches and effected two run outs to restrict flamboyant Chennai Super Kings to 129 and then huffed and puffed their way to victory in the last over.
Despite a fine effort on the field and the subsequent victory, Royal Challengers would be far from happy with their batting. They made a slow and far too cautious start and yet lost three wickets with nothing much on the board. The onus to see them through again fell on the shoulders of Ross Taylor who willingly took up the responsibility once again and guided the team to victory’s doorstep.
RCB’s superb effort on the field gave them a head start. A wonderful catch close to the ropes by Vinay Kumar off Anil Kumble got rid of an on-a-roll Matthew Hayden. The left-hander was smashing them around as effortlessly as he had been doing to everyone in the tournament until that catch in the deep cut short yet another smashing innings (60).
Roelf van der Merwe pulled off a superb caught-and-bowled effort to send CSK skipper M.S. Dhoni back. “We had a fantastic day on the field with some superb catches taken,” said Anil Kumble. The victory has given RCB a much-needed boost to their chances of making the semis.
{{/usCountry}}Roelf van der Merwe pulled off a superb caught-and-bowled effort to send CSK skipper M.S. Dhoni back. “We had a fantastic day on the field with some superb catches taken,” said Anil Kumble. The victory has given RCB a much-needed boost to their chances of making the semis.
{{/usCountry}}Teams:
Chennai Super Kings: Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Albie Morkel, S Badrinath, Jacob Oram, S Tyagi, Shadab Jakati, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Muttiah Muralitharan.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Mark Boucher, B Akhil, R Vinay Kumar, Anil Kumble, Praveen Kumar, Re van der Merwe.