Proteas show early IPL form

Johan Botha was the standout Protea performer in the opening round of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches played at the weekend.
With some of their top order batsmen not available because of international commitments Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne made the inspired decision to use Botha as a makeshift No 3. The South African did not disappoint either hitting an unbeaten 67 off 47 balls to help set up a comfortable victory over the Deccan Chargers.

Dale Steyn was in form for the latter, taking 2/18 in his limit of four overs.

There were several other Proteas in good batting form. AB de Villiers hit five sixes on his way to an unbeaten 54 off 40 balls to get the Royal Challengers Bangalore away to victory against one of the two new franchises, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

Ryan McLaren rescued the Kings XI Punjab from a desperate position when they were 9/4 against the other new franchise, the Pune Warriors. McLaren batted through most of the innings to be unbeaten on 51 off 43 balls with 6 fours and a six. It was not enough to set a defendable target but it was easily McLaren’s best performance in the IPL to date.

In the same match Alfonso Thomas had an opening burst of 2/8 in two overs for the Warriors while Wayne Parnell also did well, taking an economical 1/20 in four overs.

Jacques Kallis was also on the losing side for the Kolkata Knight Riders who went down by two runs to the defending champions, the Chennai Super Kings. He took two wickets albeit at the slightly expensive price of 36 runs in three overs and he followed that with an innings of 54 off 42 balls.

In the same match Albie Morkel hit a six and a four in the last over (15 not out off 9 balls) which proved decisive in such a close finish.

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Botha happy to make room for Watson

Johan Botha is more than happy to make way for Shane Watson in the Rajasthan Royals batting line-up when the Australian returns from national duty.
With Watson away in Bangladesh and the Royals a little short on options at the top, captain Shane Warne decided to promote Botha to number three against the Deccan Charges. It turned into a masterstroke as he smashed an unbeaten 67 from 47 balls in their eight-wicket win.
Not to be outdone, Watson went big (and some more) in the second ODI against Bangladesh on Monday as he smashed 185 from 96 balls, including a record 15 sixes to leave Warne with a poser for later in the tournament.
However, Botha insists he'll move back down the order if his captain asks him to do so.
"Yes I had loved to bat at number three and would like to do so but Shane is likely to join the team in a couple of days and I might be asked to play at any other number," he told PTI. "He is the best player in world and I am ready to bat anywhere my captain Shane Warne asks me to."
There are concerns that Indian batsman Rahul Dravid is batting a little too slowly at times, but Botha says it's not a problem.
"We can't blame him for a bit slow knock in previous match," the South African said. "He gets stuck at times but that happens to most of the batsmen. He is a great player and his role is to provide stability to the batting order."

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