Tired of losing on home turf, RCB fans relieved after win

Frenzied fans of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are finally relieved after their team beat Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) tie at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday to end their losing streak.

With only three wins, including one over Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 12 here and RPS on April 22 at Pune, RCB are languishing at the seventh position in the eight-team IPL table with six points. RCB have lost five of the eight games they have played so far.

Ahead of Saturday's clash against RPS, Bangalore fans were on the verge of losing patience with the team and were desperately hoping that the hosts will not disappoint them again.

"I am a great fan of RCB as it is led by in-form Indian Test captain Virat Kohli and has big hitters like Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers who entertain us with glorious shots. After a promising start in the first game on the home turf, the team has let its fans own, losing last two games here and three away," lamented Murali Krishna, 43, a marketing executive with an Indian multinational.

The fans were also upset with explosive West Indies opener Chris Gayle for failing to score big this time and treat them to his trademark shots as in the past. In the earlier IPL editions, Gayle had demoralised bowlers of all teams with mighty sixes and lofty fours all over the ground, especially on home turf.

According to cricket statistician H.R. Gopala Krishna, the Jamaican southpaw had hit a record 135 sixes in all the T20 games he played in 2015, including IPL-8 and is the only batsman to have scored 1,000 runs in the last five calendar years from 2010-15, a feat unparalleled in the game's shortest format.

Incidentally, the 36-year-old Gayle was dropped for this match due to poor form in the three games he played this season. He was also away from the team for eight days to be with his wife Natasha Berridge, who delivered their first child, a baby girl, and also did not play against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 30 after rejoining the team.

--IANS

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