Royal Challengers Bangalore Latest News

Henriques shines in Australia A win

2013-06-18T15:42:06+00:00

Moises Henriques lead his team, Australia A, to a 93 run victory against Ireland in their 4 day game at Stormont, Belfast between 14th and 17th June.In their first innings, Ireland had declared on 186/4, helped by Paul Stirling's 115 after restricting Australia to 312/9d. Steve Smith (133), James Pattinson (66), Henriques (47) and Alex Doolan (40) were the only batsmen who could get into double figures for the Aussies while Max Sorensen (5/50) and Trent Johnson (4/68) did the damage for the Irish.

Australia bounced back sensationally in the second innings with Nic Maddinson slamming 115* (63b 13x4 6x6) and Doolan chipping in with 56* as the antipodeans declared on 174/0 after just 20.2 overs.

Henriques claimed the top order wickets of John Anderson and Alex Cusack and debilitated the middle order with the wickets of Kevin O’Brien and John Mooney, giving Australia desired breakthroughs in Ireland's chase of 301. He took 4/22 in the second innings with an economy of just 2.20 to give Australia A a well-deserved victory.

The game in Belfast could have had a much larger victory margin in favor of the Australian A team, had it not been for 22 year old Stuart Poynter. Ireland were 112 for 7 as they chased 301 but Poynter’s 63 at no 9 helped them reach 207.

Henriques also contributed with the bat scoring 47 in the first innings. The Irish line-up tumbled in the second innings in quick succession. Poynter, in stellar form after his 172 against MCC Young Cricketers earlier this month, along with his U-19 World Cup colleague Stuart Thompson, wreaked havoc for a bit, delaying the victory for the Aussies. In the end, the Irish team were short of 93 runs and Australia A had a smooth ride to victory.

Vijay Zol to lead India U-19s

2013-06-17T09:43:45+00:00

Maharashtra and RCB batsman Vijay Zol will lead the India U-19 squad on an upcoming tour of Australia.
Having been a part of India’s squad in U-19 tournaments earlier, including the U-19 World Cup winning team in 2012, Zol is the most experienced member of the squad. The young turks from India will play teams from Australia and New Zealand on the tour.

"The All India Junior Selection Committee met in Bengaluru earlier on Saturday, to pick the squad for the tri-series in Australia, to be played in June-July 2013," BCCI's secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement.

Vijay Zol revealed how he received the news in an interview to the Indian Express. "I was sitting with friends in a room and talking about the team and the combination. One of my friends got a SMS from somewhere that I had been appointed as the captain. It was a moment of sheer joy and reward for hours and hours of hard work. I had no words at the moment, was very happy,"

He felt the selectors had picked a balanced team and that it helped that the players knew each other from domestic cricket.

"We are a very well balanced team. There are quality spinners, batsmen and fast bowlers in our ranks. We have been together since quite some time now. And know well about each other's game. We have been playing together and against in the domestic circuit a lot. It is indeed a very well balanced unit."

On some of the big names in the squad:

"We have some quality players in Sanju Samson, who had a terrific domestic and IPL season, and Akhil Herwadkar, who also played the U19 World Cup last year,"

Zol also felt his experience of playing on Australian tracks in the U-19 World Cup last year would help him.

"Having played in Australia earlier will obviously help me. I know the conditions well and will look to make most of this opportunity."

In 2011, his mammoth 451* in a Cooch Behar game brought him the instant attention of the Indian cricketing fraternity and media. Talking about the knock, Zol said "I think where I am right now is because of my 451. That innings will always remain close to my heart and will be cherished as one of the sweetest memories of my cricketing journey. Soon after that knock, everything was falling in place for me".

Team: Vijay Zol (Captain), Sanju Samson, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Saif, Sarfaraz Khan, Ricky Bhui, Abhimanyu Lamba, Rishi Arothe, Atul Singh, CV Milind, Aamir Gani, Kuldeep Yadav, Ankush Bains.

India, SA through to Champions Trophy semis

2013-06-17T09:43:25+00:00

India thrashed Pakistan while South Africa edged the West Indies out in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy thanks to a higher net run rate to become the two teams from Group B to reach the semifinals of the tournament.
West Indies and Pakistan were the teams knocked out of Group B. All teams played out games severely affected by rain to go establish their positions on the Group B points table.

Rain induced breaks and relentless pressure applied by disciplined bowling and backed up by feline fielding meant that Pakistan’s batsmen could not hang on to build on their starts after being put in by India to bat first. Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the bowlers, taking 2/19 in his 8 overs while the highlight of the excellent fielding display was Virat Kohli’s brilliant pick up, roll and direct hit to run out Junaid Khan as Pakistan were bowled out for a paltry 165 in their 40 overs.

India’s batsmen barely broke into a sweat chasing the revised targets changing because of rain interruptions. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put up 58 for the first wicket at a healthy rate before the former chipped an easy catch to midwicket. Five overs later Shikhar Dhawan (48 41b 5x4) holed out to long off looking to bring up his third consecutive ODI 50 with a big hit but India were comfortably ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis based par scores all the while. Virat Kohli (22* 27b 3x4) and Dinesh Karthik (11* 15b 1x4) took India past their final revised target of 102 with 3 overs to spare, helping India thump Pakistan convincingly.

A day earlier in Cardiff, West Indies had restricted South Africa to 230/6 in 31 overs in a must win game for both sides. Chris Gayle made a quickfire 36 (27b 5x4 1x6) at the top and Marlon Samuels anchored with 48 in the middle order but SA’s bowlers kept the fight alive, picking up wickets.

Rain was to interrupt WI who were ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis calculated par score but just barely when Kieron Pollard miscued a shot off McLaren and the top edge was caught by Steyn at third man.

The players walked off with the score 190/6 in 26.1 overs after Pollard’s dismissal. Sadly for WI, the par score would have been 187 but Pollard’s dismissal meant it was 190 and the game ended in a tie after rain left no more chances of play. Both teams finished on 3 points but SA went through to the next round based on their much superior Net Run Rate of +0.325 to WI’s -0.075.

India advance emphatically to semis

2013-06-13T13:13:14+00:00

India charged to an 8 wicket win against the West Indies at the Oval on Tuesday, becoming the first team to seal a place in the semi finals of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
Having decided to bowl first, India removed the dangerous Chris Gayle (21, 18b) early but came under fire from Johnson Charles who made an attacking 60 (55b 7x4 2x6) to take WI to 103/1 in the 20th over. The introduction of Ravindra Jadeja into the attack at that point turned the game in India’s favour as he rapidly removed Charles, Marlon Samuels (1) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (1). Counter attacks from Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were nipped before the damage could get serious and Darren Bravo played himself into a shell as WI stumbled to 182/9 from 103/1.

Darren Sammy had been threatening to go for the hits till then and with just Kemar Roach for company, he accelerated superbly. Sammy raised an unbeaten 51 run last wicket stand with Kemar Roach (0* 7b), justifying his place as an allrounder in the side after having been stripped of the captaincy before the tournament and being dropped in WI’s first game, only to return to the side due to Denesh Ramdin’s 2 game suspension. He swung his way to (56* 35b 5x4 4x6) as WI posted 233/9 in their 50 overs.

Jadeja finished with 5/36, the best figures by an Indian in the Champions Trophy and he was well supported by Ishant Sharma (1/43), Bhuvneshwar (1/32), R Ashwin (1/36) and Umesh Yadav (1/54).

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan gave India the most assured of starts, adding 101 in just 15.2 overs before Sharma (52 56b 7x4) was out caught behind off a faint glance. Kohli’s second wind in International cricket had started with a half century against the West Indies in the 2009 Champions Trophy and he looked set to repeat that, cracking four breathtaking boundaries in his brief stay. He was bowled by Narine for 22 (18b 4x4), leaving India at 127/2 after 20 overs.

Dinesh Karthik ensured the chase finished without any more hiccups. Dhawan was in his element, using the crease adeptly and attacking without any respite to bring up his second hundred on the trot, his third in three international games since his sensational debut against Australia at Mohali in March.

Rain interrupted with India 30 runs short of the total but they were comfortably ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis par scores chart. Karthik raced from 29 to near his half century but Dhawan (102* 107b 10x4 1x6) brought up his hundred first, jabbing Dwayne Bravo for a six over backward point. A stylish lofted cover drive fetched Karthik (51* 54b 8x4) his fifty and the winning runs for India, making the unfancied team the first to enter the semifinals of the tournament, India’s best showing in the tournament since sharing the 2002 title with Sri Lanka.

The win also knocked Pakistan, who lost their two games in the same group, out of the tournament. One of South Africa and West Indies stand a chance to progress to the semis from Group B.

What’s happening at RCB?

2013-06-12T16:31:05+00:00

Russell Adams is back with inside RCB news! He talks about the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy in which the Indian team has already qualified for the semis by winning their first 2 games.Virat Kohli started off with a brilliant century in the warm up game against Sri Lanka where India were chasing a mammoth 300+ target. RCB will soon be revealing new designs, merchandise items. Also, RCB will be rolling out very special memorabilia over the next few weeks.

All this and a lot more coming up for all you fans. Read Russell’s latest blog to know what else is in store. Click here to read.

NZ edge out SL in thriller

2013-06-10T15:55:19+00:00

New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 1 wicket in their 2013 ICC Champions Trophy fixture at Cardiff on Sunday, making heavy weather of a chase of just 138 to post 139/9 in 36.3 overs.Sri Lanka never knew what hit them. Tillakaratne Dilshan had put aside the first ball dismissal of Kusal Perera behind and with an 18 ball 20 was threatening to give Sri Lanka another dominant platform to build a big total on. Then McClenaghan (4/43), Mills (2/14) and McCullum (Nathan, 2/23) struck as SL first collapsed first to 34/4, then 82/6 and finally were bowled out for 138.

Kumar Sangakarra stood tall each side of a middle order collapse and was the only batsman from either side to cross 50, posting 68 out of Sri Lanka’s tiny total. Daniel Vettori marked his return to international cricket with the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene, trapped LBW in his first over in two years. Vettori finished with respectable figures of 1/16 from 6 overs.

Shaminda Eranga (2/45), Rangana Herath (1/36) and Lasith Malinga fought back well for Sri Lanka, reducing NZ to first 49/4 then 80/6. Dilshan (1/12) struck too, trapping James Frankling LBW for just 6.

The Kiwi brothers Nathan (32) and Brendon (18) McCullum though fought on, building on a platform laid by Martin Guptill (25) and Kane Williamson (16) to take NZ closer.

Malinga (4/34) provided a final burst with just about 20 runs left to defend, removing the brothers to leave NZ dangling at 122/8. Tim Southee, Mills and McClenaghan hung on tight and put up an able rearguard, defying Malinga’s searing yorkers to take NZ over the line with just 1 wicket and 13.3 overs to spare.

Gayle, Murali and Rampaul to play for Jamaica

2013-06-06T11:47:42+00:00

RCBians Chris Gayle, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravi Rampaul and Chris Barnwell were announced among squads of the 6 Caribbean Premier League teams.Gayle, Murali and Rampaul will play together for Jamaica and Barnwell will play for the Guyana franchise. Thus both Gayle and Barnwell will be playing for their local sides while Rampaul switches from Trinidad & Tobago to join his RCB teammates.

The nascent league has attracted some big names from world cricket, besides every member of the 2012 World Twenty20 winning West Indian national squad being a part of it, players like Ricky Ponting, Shakib Al Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Shaun Marsh, Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, Ross Taylor, Aaron Finch and Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien too will be a part of it.

Kohli, Karthik tons guide India home

2013-06-03T07:36:55+00:00

Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik smashed hundreds to take India home in a steep chase of 333 against Sri Lanka in their 2013 ICC Champions Trophy warm up game at Edgbaston on Saturday.India’s bowlers struggled against the Sri Lankan openers after MS Dhoni opted to bowl first, Kushal Perera (82 92b) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (84 78b 9x4 1x6) racking up 160 for the first wicket before retiring hurt. Kumar Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal picked up the batting from there, taking Sri Lanka to a huge 333/5 in their 50 overs.

Shikhar Dhawan was run out cheap, Murali Vijay crawled to 18 off 30b and Rohit Sharma miscued a pull as India reached 62/3 in 12.3 overs. Suresh Raina made a brisk 34 in a 4th wicket partnership of 48 before completely misreading the line of a delivery from Sachithra Senanayake to be bowled. India were 224 short of the total with 29.3 overs left when Dinesh Karthik walked in to join Kohli who had grafted his way to 48 (47b 5x4) by then.

Karthik played his way in, the required run rate rising to 8.65 before the two targeted Ajantha Mendis, taking 29 runs off successive overs to buy themselves some relief. They ran hard for the next few overs, Karthik bringing up his 50 off 39b and Kohli getting to the 90s before another assault followed. 81 runs were looted off the stretch from overs 37 to 43, Kohli racing from 91 off 92b to 144 off 120b (11x4 3x6) before he was dismissed.

Daniel Vettori fit for ODIs against England

2013-05-30T08:27:47+00:00

Daniel Vettori could finally make his return to international cricket in New Zealand’s 1st ODI against England at Lord’s on Friday.
Vettori last played an ODI in the 2011 World Cup after which he retired from limited overs internationals before announcing a comeback ahead of the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

He has since not played too many games owing to a series of injuries. He was called up to NZ’s squad for the second Test against England as a replacement for the injured Bruce Martin but could not play after failing a fitness test.

However Vettori scored an unbeaten 150 and took four wickets with his left-arm spin in a low-key warm-up match in Northampton to signal his form and eagerness to take to the park against England in the first ODI.

Three RCB players named in Caribbean Premier League drafts

2013-05-27T09:52:19+00:00

Chris Gayle, Daniel Vettori and Ravi Rampaul named for the 'CPL' draftsChris Gayle, Daniel Vettori and Ravi Rampaul were among the three Royal Challengers Bangalore players who were included in the drafts for the inaugural ‘Caribbean Premier League’, which is to be held from the 30th of July to the 24th of August.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Denesh Ramdin, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul and Samuel Badree were the best players in ‘Pool A’, which has cricketers who have played international level cricket.

‘Pool B’ has a mix of both regional and international level cricketers, whereas ‘Pool C’ consists of the best U-23 players from the West Indies.

Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori, both former internationals, were named in the foreign players’ category at a Barbados press conference on Thursday.

Other players who were named are Australia’s Shaun Marsh, South Africa’s Albie Morkel and Bangladeshs' Shakib al Hasan.

CPL operations manager, Carlisle Powell said that the main drafts would be conducted on the 5th of June in Jamaica, with each team having a four member selection committee consisting of the Head coach, the Assistant Coach, the West Indies franchise player and the international franchise player.

The four member committee will decide the official picks before proceeding to the final drafts.

Here is the complete list of players who were drafted for the ‘CPL’.

West Indies Pool A: Andre Russell, Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Smith, Fidel Edwards, Johnson Charles, Kemar Roach, Kieran Powell, Lendl Simmons, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ravi Rampaul, Samuel Badree, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Tino Best.

International Pool A: Aaron Finch (Australia), Albie Morkel (South Africa), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Dirk Nannes (Australia), Luke Pomersbach (Australia), Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh), Shaun Marsh (Australia), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan), Steven Smith (Australia), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Umar Akmal (Pakistan) and Vernon Philander (South Africa).

International Pool B: Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe), Davy Jacobs (South Africa), Justin Kemp (South Africa), James Franklin (New Zealand), Mark Guptil (New Zealand) and Kevin O’Brien (Ireland).