IPL Game 2: RCB and Rahul Spring One on Rajasthan

The second match of the IPL 2 was expected to be a more flamboyant affair and no, Vijay Mallya was not in South Africa. But Cape Town saw Royal Challengers Bangalore field a new captain even though it was the ex captain that produced the goods, and humiliating last year’s winners.

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Shane Warne could not say this defeat was planned as well. In fact, it was perhaps total failure of practice of ideas when the Rajasthan Royals team lost to the Cape Cobras. Perhaps Warne should not have employed his ingenuous thoughts to make the life of his batsmen tough on that occasion and let them win to boost their confidence. As it turns out, lessons were not learnt.

The RCB thought did not start promising. Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor disappeared without a run on board and the Royals believed they had the mark on the team that struggled through last year with Dmitri Mascarenhas picked up his third wicket. But in South African conditions- overcast and with the pitch helping to produce some bounce and swing, it was the perfect tailor made match for Rahul Dravid to show why it pays to have an impeccable technique.

Where flamboyance failed, professional hand succeeded. RCB owed it to Dravid to push their target to 133, not the most challenging but certainly one that proved too much for the Royals on the day. Dravid was the stand out performer of the day, much like Sachin Tendulkar earlier, with sixty-six runs and a show to say, that he may not longer hold the reins, but he has nothing to prove.

Just when Kevin Pietersen thought that the RCB were off to a disastrous start, the Rajasthan Royals spelt out how disaster really spells. The IPL defending champions found themselves five down for just twenty-eight runs in nine overs and it was not just good bowling that did them in.

Rajasthan Royals thrived in Indian conditions. But in South African conditions where adaptation became the buzz word, Royals failed to pick their cue from Dravid’s innings. While Praveen Kumar made the initial break through, it was Anil Kumble who brought all of his skills to the fore to show Warne’s team that despite having the bamboozler in their team, they had still to master the art of facing spin.

Three individual scores of eleven were not going to do the trick for the Rajasthan Royals. But for Anil Kumble, his five wickets conceding just five runs is yet another best in the bowling department for an Indian. The now retired Indian stalwart now has the best figures in Test, ODIs as well as Twenty20s.

There was little to come by way of resistance and by the sixteenth over, it was all over for Rajasthan Royals for just fifty-eight and a seventy-five run stunning victory for Pietersen’s men.

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