JOIN USBangalore cruise through to semifinal
Once the Chennai outfit hammered Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday, RCB’s entry into the semis was virtually sealed even if they had lost to Deccan Chargers in the final league tie, thanks to their a better net run rate. But on Thursday, the Bangalore team did not leave anything for the mercy of calculator, defeating Chargers by 12 runs — Manish Pandey’s unbeaten hundred adorned the victory — to ensure an emphatic march into the semis as the number three team on the IPL table.
Bangalore finished with 16 points from 14 matches while Delhi Daredevils topped the chart with 20 points followed by Chennai (17). Chargers finished fourth with 14 points and will face Daredevils on Friday in the first semifinal.
Anil Kumble’s men will now have the luxury of a rest day to plan the moves against Chennai, a side repelete with wonderful strokemakers such as Matthew Hayden, the tournament’s top scorer, Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Super Kings also have a fine bowling attack at their disposal, shepherded by the incomparable Sri Lankan offie Muttiah Muralitharan. Pacemen Albie Morkel, L Balaji and the off-spin of Raina have added to the Chennai edge.
Bangalore, who have beaten the other three semifinalists in their last three matches, have the ammunition to put it across Chennai. Their batting looked in fine fettle in the last few games with Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Ross Taylor coming up with some good scores. Their bowling too has been sharp with Kumble leading the way. They will not get a better venue than Wanderers aka The Bull Ring to write another glorious chapter. Come on Bangalore!
DH News Service