Valthaty needs to carry on

Paul Valthaty has been the flavour of the IPL so far. Largely unknown till a couple of days back, his brilliant hundred against the Chennai Super Kings has become a talking point. Javagal Srinath writes.

Paul Valthaty has been the flavour of the IPL so far. Largely unknown till a couple of days back, his brilliant hundred against the Chennai Super Kings has become a talking point.

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In terms of visibility, there is very little one can do better than what Valthaty did for the Kings XI. His team was chasing a stiff target of 189 and there was some serious quality in the opposition bowling in the form of Tim Southee and R Ashwin.

This is how people emerge from the shadows and step into the limelight. We have seen that happen to Shane Watson, with Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma, who have all used the IPL as a platform to break into or establish themselves in their national teams. Valthaty will be no exception.

What's crucial from his perspective is consistency. If he can keep producing the big scores on a regular basis - not necessarily 50-ball hundreds - and continue to make an impact, it won't be long before he is in the reckoning for greater honours.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore are in something of a slump, having lost their last two games, but history shows that this is not an unfamiliar situation for them. RCB's trademark in the IPL has been their ability to bounce back, and I don't expect anything different this time too.

Two losses in three matches means the outcome of Saturday's contest against the Super Kings will be important for the RCB. It seems as if the RCB are looking for individual brilliance, but victory is possible in a team sport only when the unit keeps delivering the goods.

Hawkeye