JOIN USRCB bounce back after a hiding in opener
When Royal Challengers Bangalore’s squad was announced prior to the start of the maiden Indian Premier League season in 2008, the nascent population of social media enthusiasts from Bengaluru didn’t bank on the ‘Test side’ to fare too well in the fast-paced world of T20 cricket.
And here’s why they weren’t too hopeful. The roster read: Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Wasim Jaffer, among others.
Granted, these names were some of the biggest in the business, and some of them had even made a successful transition from five-day cricket to 50-over cricket, but the new format didn’t reward caution. There was a spattering of young talent in the squad, but the only one who garnered interest was a certain Virat Kohli, fresh from leading India to U-19 World Cup triumph.
The odds were stacked against RCB even before they could kick off their campaign. What’s worse, the M Chinnaswamy stadium got to witness Brendon McCullum reduce the hosts to a pulp in a 158-run blitzkrieg. One batsman in that opening loss entered double digits for RCB and that was No.9 Praveen Kumar.
RCB scored 82 to Kolkata Knight Riders’ 222/3. Humiliation is an understatement.
Something had to change but they didn’t have much to change with. So when they landed in Mumbai for their opening clash against Mumbai Indians, their seasoned pros had to deliver. They did. Barring Robin Uthappa, who scored 48 from 38 balls, none of Mumbai’s batsmen were allowed to settle down as Zaheer (2/17 from 4 overs) and Akhil (2/17 from 3 overs) kept the hosts down to 165/5.
The sight of Chanderpaul and Dravid opening a T20 may have been less inspiring at that moment, but eventually, RCB got the job done with Boucher top-scoring with 39 from 19 balls as the visitors scored 166 for 5 in 19.4 overs. The 'Test side' jokes took a backseat, even if only for the night.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians: 165/6 in 20 overs (Sanath Jayasuriya 29, Robin Uthappa 48, Zaheer Khan 2-17, B Akhil 2-17) lt to Royal Challengers Bangalore: 166/5 in 19.4 overs (Rahul Dravid 32, Mark Boucher 39 n.o.; Harbhajan Singh 2-36).