Anil Kumble ON RCB Nearly Winning IPL In 2009: Indian spin legend Anil Kumble recently reminisced about the 2009 IPL final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Deccan Chargers and reckoned that RCB should have lifted their first title that day.
After finishing seventh and eighth in 2008, RCB and Deccan Chargers reached the IPL final in 2009. RCB captain Kumble won the toss and decided to field first on the day.
It was a fine bowling performance by the Men in Red, with captain Kumble being the pick of the bunch with the figures of 4/16. They restricted the Chargers to 143/6 at the end of 20 overs. Mind you, this was not a nothing target back then like it is today.
In response, none of the Bengaluru batters stayed on the crease for long. Dutch all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe played a decent inning of 32-off-21, and Ross Taylor scored 27 in 20. But other than them, no RCB batter got off to a start on that day.
With 12 runs needed in the final over, Kumble took a single on the first ball. But then, Robin Uthappa played two dot balls. In the end, the Royal Challengers lost the match by six runs.
Anil Kumble ON RCB Nearly Winning IPL In 2009
Anil Kumble sat down for a chat with Ravichandran Ashwin recently. During their conversation, the 53-year-old recalled that final, claiming that it was a missed opportunity for his side.
“I remember the many missed opportunities that cost us the game. We bowled several wides and no balls. Praveen Kumar bowled five wides alone, which really hurt our chances. Even with that, we should have chased down the 143 runs,” he said.
Kumble then discussed what went down in the final over of the match, saying,
“I begged Robs (Robin Uthappa) that the bowler wouldn’t allow him to scoop and he should try to slog instead. But he went to scoop the third delivery as well. I was mad and said, ‘Enough! Give me the strike. I’ll try to slog and we might still have a chance.’ Unfortunately, we still lost by six runs. Whenever I see Robs now, I remind him of that missed opportunity.”
It has been 15 years since that match, and RCB is still looking for their first IPL title. In the 2024 season, they are all but out of the competition, with just 2 wins in nine matches. RCB will face Gujarat Giants in their next match on April 25 in Ahmedabad.
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