Team Royal Challengers skipper Anil Kumble feels “poor cricket cost the team the first match this IPL,” but there is time to regroup and come back strongly in the tournament.

“We have done that in the past. I don’t see any reason why we can’t come back again. Just by losing one game, the first game, does not really change anything. It’s just about getting the right momentum. Hopefully we will get back to winning ways in our next match which is at home,” asserted Kumble.

On the Kolkata match, Kumble felt the match was lost in the first six overs only, when RC lost too many wickets. “We did not get the momentum in the first six overs. Probably that was what cost us the game. We lost three wickets as well inside six overs. Kallis and Dravid were putting together a partnership but after Dravid got out, we just lost momentum,” he said.

The next match against Kings XI Punjab will be at home, in Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday, where one can expect a few changes in the team. Determined to redeem their pride, there wouldn’t be a better venue than playing at home on Tuesday. It’s not an impossible task either, like the team had bounced back in IPL 2009 at South Africa.

The batting looked frail except for Jacques Kallis, who batted through the 20-over innings, anchoring at one end. After the match, Kumble had said, “We don’t want to change Kallis’ game as that’s the way he plays and that’s his role in the team.” However, the performances of the talented Indian trio of Sreevats Goswami, Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey left many a hole.

The bowling department will also come under heavy scrutiny from the team management where the performances of Kallis and Steyn may be talked about. The option of using bowling all-rounder Vinay Kumar in Tuesday’s match may cross the team-management too.

The Kings XI Punjab, smarting from the defeat in their first match, is also going through harrowing time at the moment with injury problems plaguing the team. It seemed that Yuvraj Singh was yet to recover fully from his wrist injury. But the presence of Kumara Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardane and Ravi Bopara in the ranks makes Kings XI a dangerous proposition on any day.