JOIN USA 57-ball 89, which earned the big South African the Orange Cap for the leading run-getter, set up the Royal Challengers’ emphatic win over Kings XI Punjab and his South African team-mate Mark Boucher paid handsome tribute, praising Kallis’ ability to adapt to the most abridged format.
“I don’t think there was any doubt about the ability of Jacques Kallis,” said Boucher here on Wednesday. “I think he probably had to go back into his sort of game and try and work out a couple of things that suits T20. Most of the guys have had to do that as well. Like I said, there was never any doubt about Jacques as a cricketer. Maybe he had to bring in a couple of changes and he has done that. He is now a force to reckon with in T20, one-dayers and as well as Test cricket,” he remarked.
While the RCB batting came into its own on Tuesday, the bowling wasn’t up to the mark. “Yesterday, I think we didn’t bowl particularly well,” Boucher admitted. “We bowled well in the first 12 to 14 overs. The wicket was good to bat on and it was probably a 185-run wicket. We got a bit rattled, which is understandable because the balls were not going according to the field (settings) and you think to just get the batting side of things and finish as quickly as you can.
“We strike it as a team, we had some plans and strategies for the two games that didn’t work. Hopefully we will not have that side of problem in the next game,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said.
Reflecting on Dale Steyn’s unimpressive show in the first two games, Boucher said: “I don’t think Dale bowled too well in the first game. Last night, I did think he bowled well though there were a couple of wides. If you have to look at two fast bowlers to run in and just bowl at 135 kmph, then they are not doing the job. They are there to take wickets and they need to be aggressive. Dale was aggressive last night but he was a bit unlucky. He definitely created something. If you have someone bowling at 145-150 kph, it’s a nice thing to have as a captain and as a bowling unit.”