Faced with a must-win situation in their remaining Champions League games, in-form opener Uthappa says Royal Challengers will draw inspiration from their successful final run in the 2009 IPL
Faced with a must-win situation in their remaining Champions League games, in-form opener Uthappa says Royal Challengers will draw inspiration from their successful final run in the 2009 IPL
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) seem to have made a habit of bouncing back after finding themselves down in the dumps.
In the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year, after playing their 10 league matches, RCB were languishing in the seventh position in the points table. This meant the UB Group-owned team had to win their remaining four games in order to make it to the semi-finals. Not only they achieved that but they also overcame Chennai Super Kings in the semi-finals to qualify for the inaugural Champions League Twenty20.
Yesterday night, playing in front of a roaring Chinnaswamy Stadium crowd, they made short work of Otago Volts in a do-or-die clash to ensure a place in the second stage of the tournament.
Riding on Jacques Kallis' all-round performance, RCB crushed New Zealand's top domestic side by 80 runs to make it to the League stage along with Cape Cobras.
But it's quite a steep task ahead of them even now. Since they lost to Cape Cobras in the opening tie of the tournament, RCB will have to win both their second stage matches if they aspire to be in the semi-finals of the tournament. And their opponents would be any two from Delhi Daredevils, Victoria Bushrangers and Wayamba Elevens, depending on tonight's clash between the Australian and the Sri Lankan side.
As you would expect, RCB are trying to draw inspiration from their IPL campaign. "In the IPL it was the same kind of situation where we needed a win in every game. That brought out the best in us. We are actually hoping to do the same right here," Uthappa said after the match.
"It's good to be up against the wall sometimes, because you know you have to go out there and give it your best in every game.
"Every run is crucial, every wicket is crucial, every ball is crucial, every point here again is crucial. We are going out there and going to win."
Bangalore, however, will have a massive advantage in both the games since they will be playing in front of their home crowd. "The crowd is just phenomenal, it's one of the noisiest crowds in the country. It is a small ground, so the noise, the atmosphere is phenomenal. I enjoy it," Uthappa said.
