RCB qualify for Champions League with a bang

Scorecard:
DC: 82 all out (Kumble 4/13, PK 2/18)
RCB: 86/1 (Dravid 35*)

Excellent bowling effort from RCB bowlers along with the poor shot selection from DC batsmen saw the DC innings falling like a house of cards. DC were nowhere in the game after winning the toss and losing quick wickets at the start. Kumble lead the bowlers with 4 wickets for 13 runs.
With this win, RCB managed to grab the 3rd spot in the IPL as well as a place in the Champions League 2010.

RCB vs DC - fight for the 3rd slot

After disappointing performances in semifinals, both RCB and DC will gear-up for the Champion's league qualifier, scheduled on 24th April. MI and CSK being the finalists have already got themselves qualified for the Champions league.
RCB have got a good team and they should think twice before making any changes to the squad that played the semifinal. The game is equally crucial for both teams as the semifinal was.Gilchrist has not yet played his "typical" innings and that's the main reason behind ups and downs in DC's performance.

Good luck RCB!

MI enter finals with an easy win

It was a huge disappointment for RCB fans as RCB got thrashed by MI in the semifinals.
MI recovered from 81/4, thanks to Raydu, Tiwary and Pollard to score a mammoth total of 184 in 20 overs. RCB were never in the game with such a huge total to chase considering the quality of the bowling attack MI had. RCB were able to score 149/9 in 20 overs.

Scorecard:
MI: 184/5 (Tiwary 52)
RCB: 149/9 (Pollard 14/3)

RCB to face MI in semifinal

MI and RCB being rank 1 and 4 resp. in the points table, will be playing the 1st semifinal of IPL-3. The match is held on 21st April and the venue has been shifted from Bangalore to Navi Mumbai due to the blast that took place yesterday.
On the other hand, CSK will be facing either DD/DC (winner of today's match) in the 2nd semifinal.

My playing 11 for RCB will be:
1. Rahul Dravid
2. Manish Pandey /Balachandra Akhil
3. Jacques Kallis (if RD gets out early)
4. Kevin Pietersen
5. Robin Uthappa
6. Virat Kohli
7. Ross Taylor/ Van der Merwe
8. Anil Kumble
9. Dale Steyn
10. Vinay Kumar
11. Pravin Kumar/Pankaj Singh/Abhimanyu Mithun

RCB one step closer to semis

Excellent bowling from Steyn and co. took RCB to an easy win against RR. RCB gained 2 crucial points as well as significant gain in the NRR (Net Run Rate) which will come handy in next 4 days. Chasing 130, RCB managed to spare 26 balls and took their NRR to 0.467, thanks to KP who thrashed RR bowlers in his 29 ball 62 knock.
Scorecard:
RR: 130/6
RCB: 132/5 in 15.4 overs (KP 62)

RCB will face the table topper MI in their last league match. Winning the game would reserve a birth for RCB in final 4. Even if they lose it, they have to make sure that the NRR doesn't come down much.

RCB lose another game : Dravid scores 49 off 35

All the hard work from Rahul Dravid went into vein as RCB couldn't chase even a moderate total of 150. At the end of 10th over, RCB were holding upper hand in the game - 72/1. Rahul Dravid batted superbly to score 49 from just 35 balls which included 8 fours. But as soon as The Wall got out, RCB collapsed like a house of cards to 113/6 in 17 overs. Uthappa gave his best to make his team win the game, but failed when the equation was 18 required from 12. RCB were all out for 138.

Scorecard:
DC: 151/6 (R Sharma 51 from 46)
RCB: 138/10 (Rahul Dravid 49 from 35)

It's a do-or-die for RCB and they will have to give their best to win against the deadly RR and in-form MI.

Dravid scores 52 as RCB thrash KKR

Rahul Dravid --> 52 from 35 which included 5 lovely fours and 2 hammerings over the rope. Surprised? I was - not because he hit 2 sixes but because finally RCB team management gave him a chance to bat. Chasing 160, RCB lost Kallis early and Dravid was sent up the order. And with Sriram struggling to score at the other end, it was the change in the duty for The Wall to turn into a canon. He started with a fierce pull shot and it was Gayle who did a mistake of trying stopping it (he had to move to the dug-out for some treatment). This shot was followed by some of his (or ours?) favourites- late-cut, square cut and a straight drive. He went on to score 2 consecutive sixers to score his 1st half century in IPL-3.
After Dravid, Uthappa butchered the KKR bowling attack and produced an amazing 22 ball 52.
Before that, it was a brilliant effort from RCB bowlers to restrict KKR to a gettable total of 160 on a bouncy track. At the stage when KKR were 83/1 in 10 overs, it was quite clear that they may put a massive total on scoreboard. But it was Anil Kumble who made the batsmen sweat for the runs with clever bowling (17 runs from 4 overs). Steyn also used his pace to make the KKR batsmen struggle.

It was overall a good effort from team RCB. They have to win 2 out of the next 3 games.Go RCB, go!

RCB on the verge of "Do-or-Die"

Nothing went wrong- RCB batted well, fielded well, bowled well, but the result wasn't well. Excellent batting from Suman and Symonds handed RCB another defeat at their home ground. The pitch was excellent for T20 game- had some grass on it and bounce as well. Both teams planned their batting strategy really well - playing 7-8 overs patiently and then going after the bowlers.

Kallis and Kohli were the batting stars for RCB scoring 68 and 58 resp. RCB managed to score 69 runs off last 4 overs to build a solid total of 184. In reply to this, DC started off too slow. At the end of 7th over, DC were 43/1. But the patience paid off. Next 3 overs went for 37 runs and the chargers were on the move. Kumble managed to remove Gilly and Vinay Kumar grabbed the wicket of Rohit Sharma. With the game equally poised, Symonds entered the ground. Both Suman and Symonds went after the bowlers and won the match for their team.

RCB has to win at least 2 (preferably 3) out of the 4 games left to ensure their position in the final 4. They will be facing KKR, DC, RR and MI in the next 9 days.

Batting lineup for RCB

I still feel that Pietersen and White are not required in team RCB.

• Van der Merwe is the one who gives his heart out while playing (not like arrogant KP).
• Merwe and Steyn - only one of them should play in final 11.
• Boucher and Pietersen- only one of them should play in final 11.
  

1. Kallis (should attack the bowlers at any cost)
2. Dravid
3. Kohli (if wicket is lost quickly, else Uthappa)
4. Uthappa
5. Taylor
6. Boucher/Pietersen
7. Merwe/Steyn
8. Kumble
9. P Kumar
10. V Kumar
11. Mithun

Share your thoughts on the playing 11 for RCB.

Top scorer for RCB in 1st 2 seasons of IPL comes to bat at no.7 - Shame!

Most of you would agree that Rahul Dravid's batting position is not what he deserves to be at. How can RCB team management forget their top scorer in 1st two seasons? Rahul Dravid has got chance to bat only 3 times out of 8 matches, which is something every Rahul Dravid fan would get angry at. Of course, the team management will come up with a strong reason that RCB is winning without Dravid getting a chance to bat , so why change the order? We have to agree this reason with "big" heart. Kallis is in tremendous form, Uthappa and Kohli are making consistent contributions, so why change their batting positions? In that case, why not bring Dravid in place of Pandey/Pietersen or others?

Team effort brings RCB back on track

After 2 consecutive losses, RCB managed to win the 3rd one. Chasing 182 in 20 overs, Pietersen and Kohli along with Uthappa sealed the win for RCB. KP scored 66 off 44, Kohli 42 off 26 and Uthappa 22 off 8 delieveries. It was Lee's over (17th) that decided the fate of the tight game. The over went for 25 runs when RCB needed 48 from 24 balls.

Scorecard:
KXIP: 181/5 (Sangakkara 45, Bopara 42)
RCB: 184/4 in 19.1 overs (KP 66*, Kohli 42)

Rahul Dravid has not been given a chance to bat till now. RCB team management should utilise their "dependable" resource before the tournament gets over. Remember, he was the leading run scorer for RCB in 1st 2 seasons of IPL.