Third Place IPL : RCB Vs DC – Kallis eyes Orange Cap, Gilly aims redemption
It will be a great chance for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Deccan Chargers to shed their disappointment of losing in the semis and end their IPL campaign on a happy note when they clash at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday.
The last year's finalists have been ousted but they still have the chance to make it to the Champions League to be held later this year. It would be an opportunity for both teams to redeem themselves after abysmal performances in the Champions League in 2009, which was eventually won by the New South Wales Blues, who beat Trinidad and Tobago in the final.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore were mauled by the Mumbai Indians in the first semi-final with their tall batting order failing to reach the steep target set by Mumbai. It has been a patchy show from Anil Kumble's men with brilliance accompanied by mediocrity in their 15 games so far.
Players like Jacques Kallis who started with such remarkable consistency failed in the crunch situations. Too much depended on Robin Uthappa and Kevin Pietersen, and they too folded under immense pressure. Rahul Dravid has been Bangalore's floater and the team needs to give a thought on his exact role, if any.
Bangalore's bowling has been inconsistent with too many weak links exposed in the tournament. Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar and Pankaj Singh have leaked too many runs for Bangalore's liking.
Deccan, on the other hand, have struggled with their batting. Adam Gilchrist has failed 15 games on the trot and that has hurt them. In fact, it is astonishing that Deccan made it to the final four without their skipper firing. Herschelle Gibbs has been patchy, leading to his constant entries and exits in the line-up. Though T Suman and Rohit Sharma along with Andrew Symonds have been consistent and were largely responsible for Deccan's success.
The biggest positive for Deccan has been their bowling with Pragyan Ojha, who is most likely to win the Purple Cap, Ryan Harris, Harmeet Singh and Chaminda Vaas coming up with some stellar shows. However, some of the other bowlers like RP Singh have been poor leading to Deccan being the worst bowling side at the death.
Going into the game, Kallis will perhaps be the cynosure of all eyes with his race with Sachin Tendulkar for the Orange Cap reaching a climax. The Mumbai skipper is just 17 runs ahead and it's a golden opportunity for the South African to take a sizable lead with Tendulkar's availability for the final under the scanner.
The game is also the last opportunity that Gilchrist has to come good. The dashing southpaw has led his team down with the bat this year and will like to make it up by sealing them a spot in the Champions League.
via Kallis eyes Orange Cap, Gilly aims redemption – Indian Premier League – Cricket Next.
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