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Royal Challengers Bangalore were beaten comprehensively in all departments by Australian Side – Victoria Bushrangers in the first of the League matches. The homeside put on a weak batting show with just 127 runs on the board which Victoria chased down with as many as 25 balls remaining and losing just the three wickets.
Anil Kumble won the toss and opted to bat first on a dry wicket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. He got a good start from youngster Manish Pandey (39 from 28 balls with 7 fours) but the rest of the batsmen failed to stay long and score fast at the same time. RCB missed the services of Jacques Kallis who was sidelined with an injury. They got a steady knock of 33 from 35 balls from Rahul Dravid but just couldn’t get enough runs on the board. Andrew McDonald was the hero with the ball for Victoria, bowling straight and mixing it up with his off cutters that gripped the surface. The medium pacer finished with rich figures of 4 for 21.
Victoria in their chase got off to a steady start with the prime focus being on keeping the wickets intact. The openers – Rob Quiney and Brad Hodge put on a solid 48 in 6.3 overs. There were hardly any tremors for Victoria after that and the end came too soon when David Hussey (31 not out from 15 balls with 2 fours and three sixes) decided to treat Anil Kumble with disdain by smacking him for three sixes in an over.
The Man of the Match award went to McDonald. With this defeat, Bangalore are on the brink of elimination as teams carry points into his League phase from their previous group matches. They now have one last match against a strong Delhi Daredevils.