"We are at a distinct disadvantage"

Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Ray Jennings says that the side has a tough job at hand against Victoria.

By Dominic Franks
Anil Kumble-led Bangalore take on Victoria Bushrangers in the first match of the league stage of the inaugural Airtel Champions League T20 in Bangalore today.

Challengers' batting has been smoking the turf at the Chinnaswamy stadium, but they still have a mountain to climb if they harbour hopes of making it through to the semi-finals.

Ray Jennings coach of the RCB conceded that the team was at a distinct disadvantage going into the League stage without a point after losing a thriller to the Cape Cobras. "It is important for us to understand that the stronger sides are going to come through and Thursday's game is important, seeing that we haven't got points going into the second round of the tournament."

While Royal Challengers have looked solid in the batting department, chalking up scores of 180 and 188 in their first two matches, it is their bowling that has looked slightly underdone. The clamour for the inclusion of Dale Steyn has been rising steadily.

"We have got two world class spinners and they work well together," Jennings said referring to Kumble and Roelof van der Merwe. "They are a handful and if Steyn plays, it's going to be even better," the South African said hinting at a bold move that will involve the benching of Mark Boucher, with Robin Uthappa manning the wickets.

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Victoria Bushrangers are coming off a defeat against the Wayamba XI. They will also for the first time in the tournament move away from the Kotla pitch that has come in for severe flak for not being a sporting wicket. This should augur well for their predominantly seam-up pace attack, which will enjoy the extra bounce at the Chinnaswamy.

Shane Harwood, Clint Mckay and Andrew McDonald have taken 14 wickets between them. Peter Siddle has been menacing and frugal. Watch out for Jon Holland, the 22 year old left-arm spinner, who has just been drafted into the Australian squad for the forthcoming ODI series against India.

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The hard, bouncy Bangalore strip will also allow the Victorian batsmen to play their full range of strokes -- something they were hard-pressed to do on the capricious Kotla surface. Their opening batsman Brad Hodge has been prolific in this version of the game, scoring nearly 2500 runs at a phenomenal average of 41.80.

Cameron White, captain of the Bushrangers and an erstwhile member of the Royal Challengers line-up (he didn't get a look-in for IPL 2), knows all about the explosive intent that Ross Taylor and Robin Uthappa have brought to the crease. "They have been playing really well. We have discussed it a little so far. The Bangalore side has lots of good players. So it will be up to us to come up with some really good plans, especially at the end of the innings. Hopefully we can implement them well and execute them."

The crowd at the Chinnaswamy has been a handful (and a mouthful too!) for the opposition teams. When asked how the younger members in the squad would cope with the deafening roars that emanate every time the Challengers play, White said, "That's one of the things I have been talking to the guys about. Obviously, the fans and the great home support will be really intimidating. It will be really loud. If the home side gets on a roll, it will be tough to come back. We are definitely aware of that."
The Bushrangers have made the finals of the Big Bash T20 tournament in Australia for four years running -- winning the first three editions, and ending up second best in the 2009 edition. They boast an enviable record of only five losses in 23 games. But all that will count for nothing when they turn up against the Royal Challengers, who have to win both their League matches against the Bushrangers and the Daredevils to qualify for the semi-finals.

The four-match winning streak towards the fag end of IPL 2 that saw the Challengers qualify as surprise semi-finalists will hold them in good stead in the days ahead.