Of all the teams in the competition, Royal Challengers Bangalore, which comprise of star players including AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle are struggling in IPL 2015. They are presently in the last position of the standings table, which are sure to hurt the RCB players.
Hence, when they take on Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, they would want to show their true colours against the MS Dhoni-led side. CSK, as usual, have carried on with their task of standing in the top half of the standings table in the second spot. They have won three out of their last four matches.
But, CSK are aware of the big threat RCB possess in their home turf and especially if players such as Gayle and AB de Villiers start scoring, expect a run feast, as CSK also comprise of huge hitters of the cricket ball.
Here is a look at two key players from each side.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
AB de Villiers: The South African skipper can make impossible things possible. His last innings of 11 balls 41 runs nearly helped RCB chase down a target of 209 runs against Mumbai Indians. The batsman has been in great knick for some time now and destroys bowlers with nonchalant ease. If the middle-order batsman gets around five to six overs to bat, he has the ability to change the game on his head. His strike rate for this season is an amazing 221.15.
Virat Kohli: The Indian batsman has had a quiet IPL, but is still a mainstay of the RCB batting line-up. He might not possess great power like that of Gayle, but he has the ability to change gears in no time. With such big hitters in their team such as Gayle and de Villiers, they need players like Kohli, who can anchor the innings and still score at a decent rate. His ability to play on both sides of the wicket effectively makes him a dangerous batsman in the T20 format. He has only scored 72 runs in IPL 2015 and he would be keen to score big on Wednesday.
Chennai Super Kings
Brendon McCullum: Opening the innings, he is a natural threat as he starts playing his strokes from ball one and if the batsman gets to a flyer, he provides a perfect launching pad for players such as MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, who can score. The Black Caps skipper does not know anything apart from striking the cricket ball to the boundary fence. Apart from scoring a ton against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he has not done anything exceptional with 162 runs to his credit this season so far. But, when he scores, he goes at a tremendous strike rate, which makes his contribution to be a game-changing one.
MS Dhoni: The Indian skipper is one of the ferocious hitters of the cricket ball. It is his ability to attack both the seamers as well as spinners with ease that makes him a tremendous player. Like McCullum, the batsman has not hit the ground running apart from his blitzkrieg against Hyderabad, where he scored 53 off 29 balls. He has scored 117 runs in this edition so far. Apart from his batting exploits, it is his leadership skills with his cool head in the past, which has helped his team cross the finishing line.
