Published: Apr 28, 2015, 04:49 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 28, 2015, 04:49 PM (IST)
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) play host to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. This game hardly a week after RCB beat RR at Ahmedabad by a comprehensive margin of nine wickets. Here is a game between two sides with contrasting fortunes. On the one hand, RCB have won their last two games on the ascent, on the other, RR have lost their previous two matches and are trying to regain the winning touch. READ: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Shane Warne and other former IPL players who later turned support staff
The interesting thing is that RCB have not won a game at home this year. However, they have managed to win all their away matches. They would want to correct this anomaly with a victory against RR, over whom they may have a psychological advantage after the victory in the previous encounter at Ahmedabad. READ: Best bowling figures by uncapped Indian players in IPL
RCB seem to have found a combination that works for them. With Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli opening the innings, they have the armoury right in front. Then there is AB de Villiers who would walk in at No. 3. In the middle, they may have some promising youngsters in Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan. However, one should also remember that David Wiese and Dinesh Karthik bring in a lot of experience there and have to contribute consistently to help RCB keep up the good work. READ: Virat Kohli is a very intense person: Harshal Patel
Mitchell Starc has changed the RCB side with the power of his form. That confidence has rubbed off on others such as Varun Aaron, who bowled brilliantly in the last game. RCB may consider Yuzvendra Chahal if fit, but with Aaron doing well, they are likely to persist with him. On the other hand, Chahal may have a chance if he is to replace Iqbal Abdulla.
RR had only one bad game, which was the loss against RCB. The defeat to Kings XI Punjab came in a Super Over contest, so one may not read too much in to it. The defeat to RCB could have been a slip-up, that a team may go through during a tournament. There is no need to push the panic button here. They missed a game against KKR as it was rained out and they have to regain the momentum on the field.
With Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane opening the batting, they have great quality at the top, followed by the in-form Steven Smith. Deepak Hooda, the exciting young batsman, has to be more patient and build his innings. With James Faulkner, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson and Karun Nair, they have enough batting firepower.
As far as the bowling goes, Chris Morris, Pravin Tambe, Watson and Faulkner lead the way. Dhawal Kulkarni will also play an important role in this side, unless they choose to play the extra spinner.
Squads:
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Karun Nair, Sanju Samson (wk), Deepak Hooda, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner, Chris Morris, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Tewatia, Juan Theron, Pradeep Sahu, Sagar Trivedi, Ankit Sharma, Ben Cutting, Tim Southee, Abhishek Nayar, Rajat Bhatia, Dinesh Salunkhe, Brainder Sarn, Vikramjeet Malik, Dishant Yagnik.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Manvinder Bisla, Rilee Rossouw, Sarfaraz Khan, Iqbal Abdulla, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mitchell Starc, Harshal Patel, Varun Aaron, Subramaniam Badrinath, Sean Abbott, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Darren Sammy, Vijay Zol, Jalaj Saxena, David Wiese, Sandeep Warrier, Nic Maddinson, Sreenath Aravind, Shishir Bhavane, Ashok Dinda, Abu Nechim Ahmed.
Time: 20:00 IST | 02:30 GMT
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_45)
