Rajasthan have virtually secured a semi-final spot by winning their eighth match out of ten. Today’s victory has been emphatic, by a margin of 65 runs. They set it up with a sold batting performance - Smith and Asnodkar scored fifties and Watson contributed as well to set a target of 198.

Their bowlers came out strongly and reduced Bangalore to 5 for 3 to effectively end Bangalore’s challenge. Dravid played a sole hand - scoring 75 off 36 balls . Kallis’ painful 20 off 29 balls was the next highest score.

Bangalore were appalling today: their bowling was haphazard, they bowled far too short and on both sides of the wicket. They managed to take only one Rajasthan wicket but they could have had a few more if their fielding and catching wasn’t so sloppy. Their batsmen came out without a plan and didn’t even begin to make a fight of the chase.

Dravid wins the award for the most sixes.

Dravid: “We were outplayed. It was a great effort from them to get to 197. I don’t think we fielded or bowled well. We needed a start like they got and after we were 5 for 3 we were always chasing the game.”

Warne receives the purple cap for becoming the highest wicket-taker of the tournament. He thinks Watson is the player of the tournament so far and credits Smith and Asnodkar for a fantastic partnership at the top.

Graeme Smith is the Man of the Match for his 75 off 49 balls. He batted through the 20 overs in the extreme heat. No wonder he didn’t come out to field at the start of the run-chase.

Teams: Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Results: Rajasthan Royals won by 65 runs
Venue: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers ,elected to field first
Read the rest of this entry »

Mr. Mallya has emerged as the most sore looser among all the IPL team owners. But the man can drink to even this dubious distinction as he has enough liquor for perhaps all the joys and afflictions in this world.

His team has firmly ensconced itself at the very bottom of the IPL points table with seven defeats in nine matches. Acres of print and electronic space have been dedicated to strictures of the team’s baffling composition. Now the liquor baron himself has opened a verbal front against his team’s captain, encumbering him with all the blame for the Royal Challenger’s IPL debacle. But then this isn’t the time to play the blame game as the Bangalore Royal Challengers are still playing for pride for that will help them retain some public support.

By washing the Challengers’ dirty Lenin in public, the liquor magnet is sending all the wrong signals to the people who now have one more reason to despise the BRC team. The recent remarks by Vijay Mallya and the Charu-Sharma-pink-slip episode are a colossal PR faux pas. Given Mallya’s glaring lack of public relations virtuosity, I think the team’s PR guy is also terribly out of form. I think Mallya has just reinforced the belief that there is a rift in the side. Also he comes across as a sore looser.
Read the rest of this entry »

Match No: 34
Teams: Kings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Venue: Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali
Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers (Elected to bat)
Result: Kings XI Punjab won by 9 wkts
Man of the match: Shaun Marsh
Read the rest of this entry »

Match No: 34
Teams: Kings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Venue: Mohali
Date: May 12th, 8 PM IST

Preview:
With six losses in eight games, the Bangalore Royal Challengers are rotting at the bottom of the standings. Rahul Dravid has said that his team has nothing to lose and they will play for pride from here on end. They face a tough task as they take on the Kings XI Punjab who are being touted as genuine contenders for the title

Mini-Battles: Bangalore speedster Dale Steyn will pose a few question to in-form Marsh while Anil Kumble will face a tough ask when he bowls to big-hitting Yuvraj Singh.
Read the rest of this entry »

Match No:29
Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Venue Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Toss Kolkata Knight Riders (Elected to bat)
Kolkata Knight Riders won by 5 runs
Read the rest of this entry »

Bangalore Royal Challengers Team Video With Katrina

A lot of hype has surrounded the batsmen when it comes to twenty 20 cricket. One can easily say that cricket has always been a batsman’s game. When twenty20 first arrived, it was mentioned that it would sound the death knell of good spinners or generally good bowlers. Fortunately though bowlers, spinners as well as fast bowlers hold the key in this version of the game too. The IPL is a good example. Most of Delhi Daredevils success has got to do with their deadly opening duo of Glenn Mcgrath and Mohd Asif. And don’t forget the brilliant job that Daniel Vettori did for them before he left in the middle overs. In between they make life miserable for 8 overs , which essentially means half the match is over before the opposition comes to term with them. This is where in fact a team like Deccan Chargers have struggled. Although they boast of some big names in the batting department, their bowler coffers look empty. Chennai Superkings have had their moments with bowlers such as Muralidharan and the new find Gony. Rajasthan Royals have ofcourse got the legendary Shane Warne turning around matches. Sadly for Bangalore Royal Challengers, excepting for Dale Steyn in certain spells, almost every other bowler has looked off color, resulting in their demoralizing losses. The same holds true to a large extent in the case of Mumbai Indians too. The results therefore are clear, whatever may be the version of the game, the bowlers still hold the key.

So that is another defeat for Bangalore. They have just not found the rhythm and proper combination in this league so far. On the other hand, Punjab have picked up like anything. They have gelled beautifully and have won their fifth match on the trot. It was the third lopsided affair in a row and we expect that this momentum shifts soon because at the end of the day one wants to see nice close matches. Tomorrow we have a match between Chennai and Hyderabad.

Match No: 25
Teams: Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab
Venue M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Toss Kings XI Punjab
Result: Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets
Man of the match: S. Sreesanth
Read the rest of this entry »