PUNE, India – Openers Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan cracked half-centuries as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Pune Warriors by 35 runs in the Indian Premier League Friday.
Gayle smashed 57 off 31 balls and Dilshan hit 53 off 44 as Bangalore posted a challenging 173-3 after being put in to bat at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium. The hosts managed 138-9 with Robin Uthappa (38) and Anustup Majumdar (31) providing a brief challenge.
Gayle dominated the 80-run opening stand with Dilshan, bludgeoning four sixes in an over from pace bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.
He smashed six sixes and three fours in all, reaching his half-century off only 24 deliveries and by the sixth over of the innings.
Pune, without captain Sourav Ganguly after he decided to rest, failed to make a match of it once pace bowler Zaheer Khan removed opener Monish Mishra (4) and No.3 batsman Manish Pandey (0).
From 4-2, Pune slipped further to 22-3 as Australia test captain Michael Clarke (13) also failed when opening. Uthappa, Majumdar and stand-in captain Steven Smith (24 not out) held the innings together but wickets fell regularly at the other end.
The win lifted Bangalore into third place in the nine-team league with seven wins, five losses and one no-result. Pune is already out of reckoning for a place in the four-team playoffs with four wins and 10 losses.
Scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 173-3 (Chris Gayle 57, Tillekaratne Dilshan 53, Saurabh Tiwary 36 not out). Pune Warriors 138-9 (Robin Uthappa 38, Anustup Majumdar 31, Steven Smith 24 not out; Vinay Kumar 3-32, Muttiah Muralitharan 2-16, Zaheer Khan 2-21).
Lions maul Windies
West Indies collapsed to 147 all out against the England Lions Thursday in what the tourists will hope isn’t a taste of things to come during next week’s first Test against England at Lord’s.
Only Darren Bravo with 51, in what was the West Indies first full innings on tour as a mere 34 overs were possible in last week’s rain-marred match against Sussex, prevented an even greater collapse at Northampton. In reply, the Lions were 40 for one at stumps.
McDermott quits
Craig McDermott has quit as bowling coach of the Australian team, citing the conflicting demands of constant touring with family life, Cricket Australia said Friday.
Former Test fast bowler McDermott, 47, has worked with great success in developing Australia’s fast bowling stocks in the 12 months he has been in the job.
McDermott has been prominent in the development of young fast bowlers James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc along with the renaissance of senior bowlers Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle.
McDermott said he will continue to work at Cricket Australia’s center of excellence. — Agencies
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