'Plans worked better than we thought'

Kallis took two for 20 in Royals’ 92 all out and made an unbeaten 44 as the Challengers stormed to the target without loss to pick up his second man of the match award on the trot. “Twenty20 is a format I have wanted to excel in,” Kallis said. “I have put in a lot of hard work with Duncan Fletcher on the tactical front and the mindset front too. The idea is to score quickly and not worry about getting out.”

Praveen Kumar, who took the first hat-trick of IPL III, came in for special praise. “To get a hat-trick on this track was just unbelievable,” Kallis remarked.Praveen himself remained modest. “Things worked out the way we planned,” he observed, referring to the great success the short ball brought them. “I thought a hat-trick was possible after the second wicket, but I wasn’t going for the hat-trick. I thought if I bowled a length ball on the stumps, even if he hit me for a six it was okay but if he missed, I must hit the stumps.”

Royals skipper Shane Warne admitted his team was outclassed. “We just weren’t good enough,” he rued after his team’s third straight loss. “We are not out of it yet, but we need to win seven or eight of our remaining 11 games.”Warne also commended Bangalore bowlers for their impressive show on a good batting wicket. “It was a good batting wicket. I think Royal Challengers Bangalore bowled really well after putting us in,” he said.