IPL CRICKET WORLD CUP 2010 - Rajasthan Royal Vs Royal Challengers

IPL CRICKET WORLD CUP 2010

Rajasthan Royal with Royal Challengers on Thursday

HATS OFF TO PRAVEEN

Paceman Takes Three-In-Three As Royal

Challengers Coast To 10-Wicket win 

Bangalore: It is not often that raw pace has a place in T20 cricket, more so when the game is being playedon Indian tracks. By that yardstick. It can certaily be said that Rajasthan Royals didn't quite know hit them at the Chinnaswamy stadium here on Thursday night even if Royal Challengers Bangalore knew exactly what they were doing.

        Put into bat by the hosts, the visitors, rocked early on by the pace and bounce of Dale Steyn, who hit speeds of  over 150 kmph, and later by a hat-trick from his new ball partner Praveen Kumar, never got going and were bowled out for a dismal 92.

               The eontest well and truly over then and there, the RCB batsmen added insult to injury, knocking off the required runs in just 10.4 overs and without losing a wicket to boot. Their second successive win at home has given them two wins from three matches thus far. Openers Manish Pandey (42, 30b, 7x4, 1x6) and Jacques Kallis (43, 34b, 7x4) played some outstanding strokes to send the as it is rapturous crowd into further frenzy.

             Earlier, the RCB strategy was clear from ball one. They wanted their bowlers to use the fresh wicket to keep the Royals on the backfoot and this they did save for a brief period, one over actually, when Pathan (26, 24b, 1x4, 2x6) took to the gentler pace of local man R Vinay Kumar.

             Two booking sixes brought Pathan's growing number of supporters to their feet but then first ball after the batting stragegy had been taken, Pathan himself wasn't quick enough with his feet as he failed to beat a perfect pick up and throw by Virat Kohli moving in from cover.

              With Damien Martyn finding the IPL to be a completely new game and struggling to get going, his side may have been somewhat relieved when he finally fell, the first of Praveen's three victims in the 17th over of the innings--incidentaly the seventh hat-trick of the IPL--but then there was no one else either to take up the gauntlet, not even skipper Warne who was cleaned by his opposite number Anil Kumble, who jfinished with handsome figures of 3,5-0-9-3.