Bangalore, April 03: Kevin Pietersen, the Man-of-the-Match in Bangalore’s victory over a struggling Punjab side, lauded his team’s batting performance. He said that Uthappa’s hitting was some of the best he had ever seen. Uthappa came up with a crucial cameo of 22 off just 8 balls to tilt the balance in Bangalore’s favour.
“I think it was a great victory. Robin Uthappa (22 off eight balls) came up with a special innings. That was some of the best hitting I’ve ever seen. I saw it on TV in Bangladesh the other day, but to come here and see at the opposite end was incredible.
“I played as an anchor but it was a team win. Virat Kohli (42) too played well,” Pietersen said.
However, he admitted that the Royal Challengers had room for improvement in the bowling and fielding departments.
“We’ve got great depth. I think we can definitely improve in the field and in the bowling department as well.”
Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble also praised his team, saying: “We knew the target was gettable. 180 is an incredible score but KP, Kohli and Uthappa played well. Robin’s innings probably changed the game and made the difference.
“Overall after two losses it was a good victory for us. We are looking forward to Delhi and hopefully it will be a good game for us.”
Mohali captain Kumar Sangakkara blamed his side’s poor fielding for the loss.
“This kind of loss hurts. We put a great total on the board. The bowlers did well in the first 10 overs but fielding let us down,” Sangakkara said.
“We have had many opportunities but we did not deliver. Uthappa and KP took the game away from us.”
———Agencies