The mercury level would be rising yet again at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium when Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) players take to the field against Delhi Daredevils (DD) on Sunday.
RCB, as usual, have made a strong start to the tournament. They are one of the favourites to lift the IPL 2016 trophy and one may be forced to think so, considering their batting strength. But unlike every year, Virat Kohli-led RCB will not want fade away after making such a good start to the IPL 2016. They would want to continue with their winning momentum when they play the Daredevils on Sunday.
The Daredevils, on the other hand, put up a brilliant effort against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their second game of the IPL 2016. They will look to emulate their effort against RCB as well.
Here's the prediction of how the match could go depending on who wins the toss:
If RCB bat first: One can expect yet another run fest at the Chinnaswamy as the wicket is unlikely to change from the last one. RCB had posted a mammoth total of 227 on the scoreboard against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their first game of the IPL 2016. This has always been a chasing ground and the temptation to chase led David Warner to bowl first. That decision back-fired as Kohli and AB de Villiers amassed a brilliant partnership of 157 runs. Both batsmen went hammer and tongs against SRH. Chris Gayle to score a quick-fire half-century tonight, with Kohli playing the supporting role at the other end of the wicket. Zaheer Khan, Chris Morris and Amit Mishra to be at their prime to restrict RCB to a modest total on this ground. However, it is highly unlikely that all of RCB batsmen will fail to make an impact considering the kind of form they are in. Delhi Daredevils are set to face a tough time in tonight's game.
If Delhi Daredevils bat first: The strategy should be simple -- score as many runs as you can in the allotted 20 overs. RCB does not have a strong bowling line-up unlike their batting strength. Adam Milne, Shane Watson, Yuzvendra Chahal to try hard and contain the likes of Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Sanju Samson and others. The Daredevils to post a big total against RCB and will have to bowl extremely well to restrict the hosts. But Gayle, Kohli, De Villiers, Watson and Sarfaraz Khan to chase the target with ease with more than an over to spare despite good bowling efforts from Pawan Negi, Morris, Zaheer and others.
