The big three batsmen of Royal Challengers Bangalore – Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Chris Gayle – played together for the first time in IPL 2017, against Mumbai Indians, but they failed to help their team emerge victorious. The RCB will hope to play better cricket when they come up against Rising Pune Supergiant at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
It is going to be a battle of two struggling teams in IPL 2017. RCB and RPS have identical records this season so far - won one, and lost three in their respective four matches. It is time for both the teams to deliver in IPL 2017.
RCB might have lost their last match, but Kohli could play with the same playing XI as they were only outdone by the brilliance of Kieron Pollard in the slow and dry conditions in Bengaluru.
The spinners could play an important role once again, and RCB will depend on world-class leggie Samuel Badree, along with Yuzvendra Chahal to deliver once again. Sreenath Aravind and Tymal Mills will be their key seamers.
Here is how the match could go in Bengaluru
Shane Watson could once again have to sit out as Gayle, who has not hit top gear, is a match-winner despite the left-hander's poor form. The RCB will like him to fire and if he does, the big-hitter can help RCB pick up their second win of IPL 2017.
The RPS will have a closer look at the pitch, and if they watched the last game between RCB and MI, the visitors will be tempted to play another spinner. Pacer Lockie Ferguson, who failed to pick up any wicket in his last match, should give his place in the playing XI to Adam Zampa.
One would not be surprised if slow-left arm Ankit Sharma, who just bowled one over in the last match for 16 runs, will be given another chance if the pitch is dry and slow. He will also add variety as Imran Tahir and Adam Zampa are leg-spinners.
However, the top order of RPS, primarily Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith have to do the bulk of the scoring. It is also time for former captain MS Dhoni to come into his own in Bengaluru.
Confirmed playing XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli (c) Manddep Singh, AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Adam Milne, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal, Samuel Badree.
Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS): Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steve Smith (c), Ben Stokes, Manoj Tiwary, MS Dhoni (wk), Dan Christian, Rahul Chahar, Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat.
