Stumbling sides seek revival

Friday, April 22, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Rising Pune Supergiants' inaugural IPL season got off to the perfect start with a thumping win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener. Supergiants have lost two games since, and require a victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore to revive their campaign.

Royal Challengers, who also won their first game before losing two consecutively, have depended on a strong top order to mask their bowling fragility. Chris Gayle, who did not feature against Mumbai Indians, having flown to Jamaica to be with his partner for the birth of their first child, will miss this game too. Till Gayle returns, Royal Challengers could persist with KL Rahul opening and Travis Head at No. 5.

Royal Challengers have failed to find a settled bowling combination. Barring Harshal Patel, no other specialist bowler has played all three games. West Indies legspinner Samuel Badree has been ruled out of the tournament after failing to recover from an injured shoulder, and has been replaced by the South African chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi.

Supergiants haven't found their best combination either. It isn't often that MS Dhoni makes wholesale changes after two matches - Supergiants made three against Kings XI Punjab, including drafting in Thisara Perera and Irfan Pathan for Mitchell Marsh and Rajat Bhatia as like-for-like replacements. The batting has been held together by Faf du Plessis' consistency (170 runs in three matches), but a misfiring middle order has been shown up. Supergiants have the personnel, but need to perform consistently to bid for a playoffs spot.

Rising Pune Supergiants: LLW (most recent matches first)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: LLW

Ajinkya Rahane is a vital cog in Supergiants' batting order. He started the season with an unbeaten 66 against Mumbai, but has scored only 30 runs over his next two games. A solid start could help an unsettled middle order come into its own.

Shane Watson was the most expensive purchase at the IPL auction (INR 9.5 crores), and his all-round abilities have made a telling difference to the Royal Challengers line-up. He has bowled four overs in all games, taken four wickets, and scored 57 runs at a strike rate of 154.05. With his experience, he will be asked to bowl at crunch times and provide Royal Challengers with impetus towards the end with the bat.

Supergiants brought in Perera and Pathan against Kings XI, but neither enjoyed a productive game. Dhoni may be forced to make changes again.

Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Steven Smith, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Mitchell Marsh/Albie Morkel/Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia/Irfan Pathan, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ankit Sharma, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 M Ashwin

Royal Challengers made six changes for the match against Mumbai. Head and Rahul's cameos mean they are likely to retain their place. Iqbal Abdullah picked up three wickets, but conceded 40 off his four overs. Will Yuzvendra Chahal return?

Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable) 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Travis Head, 6 Sarfaraz Khan, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal/Iqbal Abdullah, 11 Varun Aaron/S Aravind

In the last T20 that Pune hosted, India were bowled out for 101 on a seaming deck against Sri Lanka. The pitch may not be as green as that night, but could retain its seam-friendly nature. There is no rain forecast.