On a day of high drama, RCB's campaign in the Airtel CL T20 was effectively over even before they stepped onto the field.

By Dominic Franks

The first match of the day between Victoria Bushrangers and Cape Cobras was delayed by nearly one and a half hours because of a bomb scare. The two teams stayed put in their hotels awaiting security clearance while the stadium was combed twice over with sniffer dogs, bomb detectors and plain clothes policemen to ensure that the arena was safe.

The delay couldn’t have helped the Bushrangers who won the toss and opted to bat. Both their openers were back in the dugout in the space of three balls without a run on board. Royal Challengers’ hopes of staying in the tournament hinged on Bushrangers defeating the Cobras.

The crowd at the Chinnaswamy, who must be commended for not growing restive during the 100 minute delay, were expected to get behind the Bushrangers. Either they were in an extremely festive mood, or they didn’t care enough about who won after the unforeseen wait because they cheered both teams lustily throughout the opening game. Every wicket, boundary and sliding fielding effort was hollered at irrespective of which team the player belonged to.

The Bushrangers could only manage 125/5 in their allotted 17 overs. Peter Siddle kindled a glimmer of hope when he had Andrew Puttick looping a ball to Andrew McDonald in the second over, but a quickfire cameo from Derek Brand who opened in place of Herschelle Gibbs set-up the match for the Cobras. Once he departed, Henry Davids took over the onus of keeping the asking rate in check and in the company of the unflappable JP Duminy they shepherded the unbeaten Cobras to their third straight victory in the competition.

Both, Cobras and Bushrangers, now have four points in the League stage which stamps out Royal Challengers who haven’t a point to their name and only one game left. What was to be a ‘must win’ encounter for RCB (and by a big margin at that) has turned out to be a dead rubber as far as they are concerned.

Delhi Daredevils on the other hand are expected to be firing on all cylinders in a bid to make an improbable march to the semi-finals. They carry a net run rate of -1.100 into this stage courtesy their opening match pummeling at the hands of the Bushrangers. They will need to win their next two matches handsomely to ensure that India finds some representation in the final four. They will certainly be helped by a large contingent of supporters who are smattered across two stands in the stadium tonight.

It will be interesting to see if Royal Challengers play a full strength team for they will be tempted to test out their bench strength in a competitive match environment. If that happens it will be a pity for an enthusiastic holiday crowd that has packed the stadium hoping that Diwali will bring added reason to celebrate.