Yuvraj Singh had almost single-handedly won the match and if he would have stayed there five overs more, the game would have been all over, feels Royal Challengers skipper Anil Kumble.
“The ball was stopping and coming and Yuvraj of course likes pace on the ball and I wanted to take the pace off and that worked. Yuvi was going great guns and if he had been five overs more, probably the game was over and there on we really tightened screw,” Kumble said after the match.
Yuvraj Singh notched up the first hat-trict of second Premier League and also scored a blistering 33-ball 50 but still could not avoid Kings XI Punjab’s narrow 9-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore here today.
Kumble gave credit to Roelof van der Merwe for posting such a competitive target even after losing three wickets in three balls.
“It was a great game. After losing three wickets in three balls, I thought Re (van der Merwe) batted fantastically to get us to 145 and everybody rallied around him and when we got to the score we really backed ourself. It is a great show by the bowlers,” he said.
Merwe score a quickfire 35 off 19 balls studded with three fours and three sixes to post a target of 146 to win against the Kings XI Punjab.
Kumble also lavished praise on Praveen Kumar for his crucial over in the end. “It was tough to grip the ball because of the dew. We didn’t expect dews and Praveen is a quicker baller and has experience and he bowled brilliantly,” he said.
Kumble, who succeeded Kevin Pietersen as skipper, said they are improving with each game and hoped the winning streak will continue.
Disappointed at the loss, Yuvraj Singh said the opponent were a better side on the given day.
Tags:
Anil Kumble,
Bangalore Royal Challengers,
IPL 2,
IPL 2009,
IPL 2009 News,
IPL Scores,
IPL South Africa,
IPL Updates,
Kevin Pietersen,
Kings XI Punjab,
Merwe,
Praveen Kumar,
Preity Zinta,
Royal Challengers Vs Kings XI Punjab,
Yuvraj Singh
Related posts
