The Royal Challengers Bangalore will play the Cobras in the first game
of the Champions League T20 tournament. The match will be played in Bangalore
and will be a day night encounter. This is a match for the Group C in the four
group tournament. The other side in this group is Otago from New Zealand.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore had been the runner-up during the second edition
of the IPL, which gave them the right to be one of the sides for this tournament.
And what a performance it had been for the Bangalore side, as they had rallied
from the brink of not making it to the semi-finals to entering the finals of
the tournament.
Click for Live Score Card of Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Cape CobrasHowever, they will have a couple of players missing from their line-up which
may be an issue for them. For one, Kevin Pietersen, who would have loved
to feature in a game against any South African side, will be missing with his
injured Achilles Heel. As would be Jesse Ryder, who was in fact, named in the
squad, but with his strained groin keeping him out of the Champions Trophy,
it is almost certain that he will not play in this tournament as well.
This is not to say that the Bangalore do not have others who can deliver. There
are a couple who can see through the overs in Rahul Dravid and Jacques
Kallis, and the management will do well to keep them as far apart in the order
as possible given their nature of batting. Interspersed between these two should
be the more aggressive likes of Ross Taylor, Robin Uthappa and
Virat Kohli, all of whom can play their strokes. The two Indians will, however,
have a lot of proving to be done, given that their ability to stick around and
convert their cameos into something big is something clearly missing.
And it is not as if the Cobras are not without their problems. Graeme Smith
has already pulled out of the tournament with a cramps problem, and that would
mean that the Cobras will have a new captain in Andrew Puttick who leads
the side in his absence. And despite the presence of Herschelle Gibbs,
it is a known fact that there could be an up and down kind of form for them.
This could be a cause for concern. J.P.Duminy's presence in the middle order
may be soothing, but the bowling is another area that the side could be a little
wary of.
In Charles Langeveldt and Monde Zondeki, they have two really quick bowlers
who could rip the opposition apart. But them aside, the bowling clearly lacks
teeth and could be the difference between the two sides!
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