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Gayle-wind headed for Team Pune
PUNE: As Team Pune begin their post-mortem after another dismal season, the contrast between their lot and that of their opponents on Friday, Team Bangalore, couldn't be more glaring.
For the second consecutive season Bangalore have been reaping the dividends of signing up explosive West Indian opener Chris Gayle. The left-handed batsman has almost single-handedly brought the team to the brink of playoff stage.
Gayle's firepower consumed another strong rival, Mumbai, on Wednesday and Pune have already experienced it first hand in the away game.
The numbers themselves tell a tale. Pune's highest run-getter is Robin Uthappa (353 runs at a strike rate of 115.35) but Steven Smith is the one who has provided some spark (301 runs at 142.65). However, Smith has batted at No. 5 as a finisher, while Uthappa has only opened the innings a couple of times.
Juxtapose this with Gayle's 515 runs at a strike-rate of 149.27 and AB de Villiers' 292 at 171.76 - how Pune wished they had some of Bangalore's ammunition in their arsenal!
Pune captain Sourav Ganguly didn't mince words about how Gayle could make mince-meat of his bowlers. "You have to get him out, that's the only way. Bangalore have handled him well by asking him to bat through the 20 overs. If he does that, he could do a lot of damage," the former India skipper conceded here on Thursday.
But it's not all about pyrotechnics. A more fundamental issue for Pune is the performance, or the lack of it, of the domestic players. With the Gayle trump card up their sleeve, Bangalore have not had to face that problem, despite Virat Kohli being below his best this season. But Pune have not been so lucky.
Ganguly will have a double-task to do -- first, he has to motivate them to give their best in the last three matches in which they have only pride to play for; second, he has to remove the psychological scar his bowlers might be carrying after the mauling at the hands of Gayle and Co.
"We have to finish well. We started off well, but dropped away in the middle stages. We beat powerhouses like Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi, and should have won against Bangalore. But the slide has been too steep," he said.
Bangalore have better reasons to motivate them, which alone make them the favourite for Friday's game.
-TOI
