DURBAN: Yuvraj Singh’s disappointment was there for all to see. It is not often that someone who claims a hat-trick, scores a solid half-century and claims the man of the match award ends up on the losing side. The Kings XI Punjab captain had to ride the roller-coaster of emotions, leading to disappointment after his team lost by eight runs to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Yuvraj said that they should have won the match but conceded that Royal Challengers played the better game. “We didn’t get enough partnerships. It was a good bowling display by Royal Challengers. The pitch is getting slower but I won’t blame it for our loss. It’s simple that we should have played better and worked on building partnerships,” he said.

Anil Kumble was quite happy about the win as it was his first match as the captain of Royal Challengers. “It’s a great challenge to lead in this format of the game. It’s a new thing for me but I wasn’t under pressure,” he said. “I have bowled well so far and have been amongst the wicket takers. I think despite not playing competitive cricket after my retirement, it’s just the rest that I have had in these five months and the free mind I think with, have been proving fruitful.”

Kumble said he thought the slide from 80 for three for 84 for six would hurt his team but was delighted that Roelof van der Merwe steered the team to 145. “We managed that score thanks to van der Merwe. And later, the bowlers did the job. Yuvraj was in his sublime touch and had he been there for four or five more overs, the match would have gone in their favour. It was tough,” he said Kumble.

He said he had picked Praveen Kumar to bowl the last over as it was getting tougher for the spinners to grip the dew-laden ball. “Praveen is an experienced bowler and I gave him the responsibility,” he said. “He proved me right. We are improving with each game and hope we continue performing like this in future games as well.”

South African van der Merwe, who played a vital role, both with the ball and the bat for Royal Challengers Bangalore, said he was happy to have contributed. “It’s a fantastic win for us. We are lagging in the points table and hence the match was all important. We won the pressure game and we are all ecstatic about it. I am happy about my performance as my contribution with the bat and the ball helped my team secure this win. Hope we continue with this momentum.”

Earlier, Yusuf Abdulla, who took four wickets for Kings XI Punjab, said that the tournament was getting better and better with each day. “It’s more exciting now and since I am getting wickets, I am enjoying it all more. Taking wickets boosts up my confidence and makes things easy for me. I was a bit expensive but then I got four wickets and I am happy about it. It could have five if that catch would not have been dropped on the last ball but then such things are part and parcel of the game,” he said.

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