Duminy takes special delight in performing the finishing job to help Cape Cobras make a winning start against Royal Challenger Bangalore
Duminy takes special delight in performing the finishing job to help Cape Cobras make a winning start against Royal Challenger Bangalore
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Had it not been for one man's brilliance, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) would have celebrated a return to their home ground with a victory in the Champions League Twenty20 opener at the Chinnaswamy Stadium last night.
But it was not to be.
Jean-Paul Duminy's stupendous unbeaten 99 off just 52 balls enabled South Africa's domestic champions Cape Cobras chase a stiff target of 181 with two balls to spare.
Mature knock
Duminy, arguably the most improved South African cricketer in the last 12 months, showed tremendous maturity in his innings, which saw eight fours and five sixes.
It may be recalled that Duminy found himself in a similar position during the second Indian Premier League edition earlier this year when he failed to see Mumbai Indians home in a few games after having laid the foundation for a victory.
No wonder then the southpaw tagged this knock as his "best innings" so far.
"(I would rate it as) probably the best knock of mine. Look, I have been in this situation a few times earlier where I needed to finish the game for my team but we ended up second best. But this was probably the first time I won the game for the team," an elated Duminy told the media after Cobras' five-wicket win.
And the task wasn't easy. RCB's Praveen Kumar, who got rid of Herschelle Gibbs (0) and skipper Andrew Puttick (11) in his first two overs, was making the ball talk when Duminy walked in to bat in the third over. But he saw Praveen off and then avoided Anil Kumble from having an impact on the game with his leg-spinners.
As a result, though Duminy missed out on a deserving century, he wasn't disappointed at all.
"Without a doubt, I would take 99 not out for a win instead of a century. The main priority was to see that the team got over the line, so it didn't really matter whether I got 99 or 100," Duminy said.
Opposition praise
Kumble, the RCB skipper, was all praise for the South African. "It was a fantastic innings. This is what their team needed, somebody to stay there right till the end, so it's a very special knock," Kumble said.
If the Cobras repeat their yesterday's performance and overcome Kiwi side Otago Volts in Hyderabad tomorrow, RCB will have to face the Volts in a must-win tie in Bangalore on Monday to advance.
And if Kumble's men falter in their quest, they will surely not forget Duminy's splendid innings for a long time to come.
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