RCB look to ride on batting might

Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have resurrected Royal Challengers Bangalore's campaign. After having played half their league games, they were wallowing in lower-table mediocrity and seemed destined for an underwhelming season. They turned it around, winning four of their last five matches, largely on the back of performances from their two leading batsmen. They are still two wins away from a playoff berth, but they might even squeak through with just one.

While Kohli and de Villiers lead the run charts, Royal Challengers have also benefited from KL Rahul's good form, as well as crucial knocks from Shane Watson and Sachin Baby. Chris Gayle's 49 on Monday was yet another ominous sign for oppositions. The team's familiar weaknesses in the bowling department remain an ever-present worry, though. When they have won, it has invariably been despite their bowlers, not because of them. It increasingly looks like Royal Challengers' fortunes hinge on batting might alone.

The task of neutralising that batting might, in the batting heaven that is the Chinnaswamy Stadium, falls to a struggling Kings XI Punjab, whose playoff hopes have already been dashed. Kings XI's campaign never really recovered from a poor start. A captaincy change, injury setbacks and rumours of bad blood in the camp have only added to the turmoil surrounding the team. They go into tomorrow's match without Glenn Maxwell, who has a side strain, and Marcus Stoinis, who has left for home due to personal reasons.

While bowling has been Kings XI's stronger suit, the bowlers fell apart when trying to defend 179 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous match. They are bound to face another stern test in Bangalore.

Royal Challengers Bangalore WWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Kings XI Punjab LWLWL

After a string of single-digit scores, Chris Gayle finally ended the rut against Kolkata Knight Riders with a 31-ball 49. While Kohli and de Villiers rightly hog the limelight, opposition bowlers would not take their eyes off Gayle. If he can get going, Royal Challengers will have a third in-form batting superstar at the top of the order.

Axar Patel was Kings XI's only good bowler in their last outing. His outstanding 17th over kept them in the game. In the season as a whole, he has been their one quality spinner and has 11 wickets to show for it. Moreover, among spinners with more than 10 wickets this IPL, Axar has the best economy rate (7.32). That figure might be under threat at the Chinnaswamy, though.

Kohli's split webbing on his left hand on Monday required nine stitches, but he should be fine to play. Royal Challengers probably won't consider any changes in the batting department. On the bowling front, they have a choice to make between S Aravind and Varun Aaron, while the rest are likely to keep their places.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Virat Kohli (capt), 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Shane Watson, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Sachin Baby, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 S Aravind/Varun Aaron, 10 Iqbal Abdulla, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Maxwell and Stoinis have flown back to Australia so Farhaan Behardien should re-enter the playing XI. Depending on whether Kings XI want to bolster their pace stocks or their spin strengths, the No. 11 slot may see a toss-up between Anureet Singh and KC Cariappa.

Kings XI Punjab (probable): 1 M Vijay (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 4 Farhaan Behardien, 5 Gurkeerat Singh, 6 David Miller, 7 Manan Vohra/Kyle Abbott, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Mohit Sharma 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Anureet Singh/KC Cariappa

"We want sixer!" It is almost as if the Chinnaswamy ground was designed to grant this wish. High altitude, small boundaries and flat pitches make a lip-smacking combination if you are a batsman. In the last match here, a Kohli-de Villiers special powered Royal Challengers to 248. The weather is a worry, though, with a low-pressure system expected to hit Bangalore at some point on Wednesday, possibly bringing heavy thundershowers.