Royal Challengers reach ACL T20 SEMI-FINAL

 RCB stormed into the semi-finals of the ACL T20 and skipper Anil Kumble couldn’t stop praising Virat Kohli.
By Rajarshi Gupta in Johannesburg
Bangalore had a lot riding coming into the virtual quarter-final at the Wanderers against Highveld Lions. No IPL side had ever made it to the knock-out stages of the ACL T20 and Anil Kumble’s men needed to turn up with something special. They did and an exceptional all-round show from Virat Kohli sealed the deal for the Indian side.
Kumble addressed the media after what was a pretty close game but appeared just as calm as he was in the dug-out during the run chase. The skipper revealed why he managed to stay unruffled even as the hunt became trickier in the final moment.
“The first wicket added 60 runs and that laid to a solid foundation for us. We faltered in the middle but I knew that as long as Virat was in the middle, we had a chance,” Bangalore skipper said while praising Kohli.
Kohli did not disappoint and cracked an unbeaten 49 off balls to steer Bangalore home with one over to spare.
Kumble also patted the Delhi youngster on the back for his accurate spell in the middle, where Kohli conceded just 24 runs off three overs. That, with Kumble’s spell, turned out to be the turning point as Bangalore restricted the Lions even in the face of a major assault from Alviro Petersen.
“Once we restricted them (Lions) for 160, I knew we had the upper hand. My spell along with Virat’s was critical in restricting the total to 160.”
The former India, leg-spinner, who was the most economical bowler in the tournament before being taken apart by the Mumbai Indians in Durban, admitted he was disappointed with his performance two nights back.
“I was very upset with my own show after the Mumbai game but I was happy that I was able to put the brakes on the Lions and get Petersen when he had started to look dangerous.”
Kumble said his team would have no additional pressure going into the last-four stages in the same country where they had stumbled at the final of the IPL, two years back. So what if the ACL T20 meant a tourney for the Champion of Champions!
“It won’t make any difference to us because even in the IPL we took one game at a time. If were to take into account that the ACL T20 is for champions from all across the world, then we would invite pressure on ourselves.
“When we came to South Africa, our main aim was to qualify for the last four, which we did. Now, it is all about playing the same way for the rest of the tournament.”
Kumble said that the RCB have come a long way from the first edition when the side was branded a ‘Test side’ by several critics back in India.
“In the last three years, RCB have been great. Our performance wasn’t top notch in the first edition and a lot of people said a lot of things. We have qualified for the ACL T20 twice in a row and it will be great if we can finish on top – that will be an icing on the cake for us.”
The skipper defended his bowling which looked under fire in Durban and Johannesburg towards the end of the innings. Having restricted Mumbai and the Lions in the middle stages, Kumble’s bowlers leaked runs in the final overs, allowing the opponents to touch respectable scores.
“In T20 cricket, you are bound to get hit at some point of time. As long as the percentage of getting hit is not too high, that’s fine with me.”
The Royal Challengers will now move to Durban and await their fellow semi-finalists.

Royal Challengers Bangalore
160/4 in 19.0vers

Highveld Lions

159/6 in 20.0 Overs