After leading the table midway through the tournament with six straight home wins, RCB faltered on the road with just two wins from eight outings. Slipping to a tricky fourth position with 16 points, Bangalore now find themselves in a do-or-die situation needing to win the remaining two matches to make the cut for the playoffs.
The road to redemption for the Virat Kohli-led side begins at home when Kings XI Punjab come calling on Tuesday before a weekend fixture against Chennai Super Kings.
Two victories could take RCB to the doors of qualification, with Sunrisers Hyderabad too battling to secure their progress. However, in the event of both RCB and SH finishing the league phase with 20 points apiece, Bangalore will advance thanks to a superior run rate as compared to their neighbors'. Funnily enough, two defeats too can take RCB to the playoffs, provided the Sunrisers and the Knight lose their remaining matches.
RCB will look to keep things simple as they eye payback against Kings XI after David Miller's Gayle-esque pyrotechnics snatched the game from their grasp in their previous meeting. Punjab are out of the playoffs, being seventh with 10 points. However, they will be determined to play spoilsports.
With their batting being their main weapon, RCB will be pleased with the return to familiar conditions. The Chinnaswamy stadium surface has been one of the best for batting and RCB's batsmen have revelled here. Chris Gayle has made the pitch his own and his 175 off 66 balls in the last home game against Pune Warriors has fuelled a mad scramble for tickets.
With Cheteshwar Pujara finding his feet and Kohli and AB de Villiers as reliable as ever, RCB will bank on their batsmen to get through.
Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Captain: Virat Kohli
Coach: Ray Jennings
X Factor
Jaydev Unadkat has come along leaps and bounds and has increased his pace too. His whippy quick-arm action is not the easiest to pick and Kings XI Punjab could be rocked early if he is on song.
Recent form
They have played poorly when on the road and their batsmen have underperformed. They need to pull up their socks as any slip-ups from here could mean missing out on the playoffs again.
Weakness
Bowling at the death has worried them for a while now. Vinay Kumar bowls a predictable length as does Ravi Rampaul. There seems to be a plethora of slower balls attempted and they allow the batsmen to get underneath the ball. Their fielding too has been comical with Kohli himself and Mithun dropping key batsmen.
Key Players
If the RCB are playing at Chinnaswamy, Gayle is a huge factor. It's an easy six-hitting ground and Gayle has an astonishing record there. Don't count the likes of AB de Villiers too. His unorthodox strokeplay can derail the best of plans. Kohli's leadership will
be in focus too.
Team: Kings XI Punjab
Captain: Adam Gilchrist
Coach: Darren Lehmann
X-Factor
Their ability to play spoilers and sporadically punch above their weight. It's a team sans stars and if a couple of Indians players like Mandeep or Gurkeerat explode, things could get really interesting. They need to realise though that Miller-like miracles cannot happen everyday.
Recent form
After their mid-night heist at Mohali in the previous fixture against RCB, Kings XI have been inconsistent again. The top-order batting has been very poor and Gilchrist is struggling.
Weakness
The batting. Big guns like Gilchrist and David Hussey have not played well consistently and that has put too much pressure on Shaun Marsh and David Miller. The fielding has been poor too.
Key Players
Having played regularly at the Chinnaswamy for the first three seasons, Praveen Kumar knows how to bowl there. His swing could trouble Gayle. Remember even during the whirlwind 175-run knock against Pune, Bhuvneshwar remained largely unscathed. Shaun Marsh and David Miller will like the true pitch that the Chinnaswamy offers.
0 comments:
Post a Comment