In the last league stage match of the season, Royal Challengers Bangalore will face defending champions Gujarat Titans here on Sunday, knowing exactly what is expected from them for playoffs qualification
Virat Kohli (L), Faf du Plessis (R) (Pic: AFP)
In the last league stage match of the season, Royal Challengers Bangalore will face defending champions Gujarat Titans here on Sunday.
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In this must-win game for RCB, the team would know exactly what is required of them to qualify for the playoffs.
Gujarat Titans is the first team to enter the playoffs this season while RCB stands at No. 4 spot in the points table with 14 points. Their net run rate (NRR) of 0.180 is better than MI (-0.128), who take on SRH in Sunday’s first game, and RR.
With ace batter Virat Kohli back in form and skipper Faf du Plessis leading with 600+ runs this season, RCB will hope that the opening duo power RCB towards a victory.
RCB will be eliminated from playoffs contention if they lose to Gujarat Titans, a formidable team led skillfully by all-rounder Hardik Pandya, the reward of which is a top-two finish in the league stage with a step closer to retaining their title.
Besides playing at their home ground with the audience cheering vociferously for them, RCB also has the advantage of knowing the outcome of the duel between MI and SRH to take place earlier that day, before they enter the field.
Both the teams are entering this game with glorious victories in their previous matches - GT over Sunrisers Hyderabad by 34 runs and RCB by eight wickets over the same team.
Also Read: How upbeat Titans roared into playoffs with win over 'out-of-reckoning' Sunrisers
South African du Plessis, who holds the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs, has so far amassed 631 runs in 13 games. He also leads the chart for hitting the most sixes (34). Meanwhile, Kohli is sixth in the list for top scorers with 438 runs.
It will be interesting to see how the trio of Kohli, du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell fare in this crucial match. However, the overdependence of the team on these three players can prove to be detrimental if GT bowlers manage to make early inroads.
Mohammed Siraj has been the RCB standout bowler this season, and in the company of Wayne Parnell, he would again have to shoulder the responsibility of leading their bowling attack.
With the ball, they will be up against the likes of in-form Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and GT skipper Pandya. Gill, who is also coming off a century, will look to set a tone against RCB.
Seasoned campaigners such as Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan and Mohit Sharma make for a very competitive bowling attack for GT, but they will have their task cut out against a team that comprises one of the modern-day greats of the game.
Match starts at 7:30.
(With PTI inputs)
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