IPL 2016, RCB vs GL Match 44 Preview: A must win game for the Royal Challengers

Not many would have predicted the Royal Challengers Bangalore to be struggling in this season of the IPL, but such is the nature of this format. Virat Kohli and his men still have an outside chance of making it to the playoffs if they win all 4 of their remaining games. It will not be an easy task but with the kind of batting line-up the Challengers possess, they should be confident enough of overcoming any team.

The Gujarat Lions are just below the Sunrisers Hyderabad on the top of the table and a win against the Royal Challengers will put the Lions back to the top. The Gujarat Lions beat the Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous match by 5 wickets. Chasing a target of 159, they did it with relative ease, that will give confidence to their inconsistent batting unit.

The Match 44 of VIVO IPL 2016 will take place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The Royal Challengers, as always, will enjoy great crowd support and they should make the most of it to propel them to the points they need desperately.

Match Date and Time: 14th May 2016, 1600 hours IST.Match Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Weather:

Temperature: Max 32°C, Min 26°C

Humidity: Max 51%

Wind: 7 km per hour

Pitch Report: Par-score 170. The pitch was much slower in the last game.

In-Depth Analysis:

The Gujarat Lions will be pleased with their batting in the previous game. Their openers, Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum got off to a good start, which the Royal Challengers should take as a warning sign. The Challengers will be well aware of the damage these two players are capable of inducing and a plan should be in place to stop them.

Skipper Suresh Raina has still not found his form with the bat. The Gujarat Lions are almost through to the playoffs which takes some pressure off Raina and also gives him the time he needs to find his form.

Dinesh Karthik and Aaron Finch played important roles in the chase against the Knight Riders. Playing Finch in the middle order was a great move by the Lions and they can now let their openers play their natural game.

Seamers Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni have continued to do an outstanding job for the Gujarat Lions with the new ball. Their bowling in the powerplay overs has been impressive, picking up wickets alongside containing the batsmen. Though Praveen has picked up only 5 wickets in 11 games, he has kept things tight at his end with an economy rate of 7.34 runs per over.

The Lions can utilise the services of Dwayne Bravo and Smith in addition to Ravindra Jadeja’s spin in the middle overs. These variations can come in handy when the opposition is scoring at a fast pace. The unorthodox left-arm spinner, Shivil Kaushik has been a tough customer for the batsmen.

Skipper Virat Kohli has been in a blistering for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, scoring 568 runs in 10 matches including 2 centuries and 4 fifties. Kohli is already leading the race for the orange cap and the Challengers will rely on their captain to give them a good start at the top of the order.

Chris Gayle has been a huge let down for the Challengers as he has failed to even reach double digits in this entire season. The Challengers will most likely switch back to opening with K L Rahul as he looked comfortable facing the new ball with Virat Kohli.

Mr 360, AB de Villiers will look to bat at his best for the Challengers in this must-win game and give the bowlers a cushion. With Shane Watson and Sachin Baby ability to clear the boundary with ease, the Challengers should look to give them a decent platform to build their innings.

Replacing the Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc with Chris Jordan hasn’t changed much for the Challengers. Though there is some hope as Varun Aaron and S Aravind bowled well against the Mumbai Indians in their previous match.

The Royal Challengers have a bunch of experienced players who are used to playing in pressure situations regularly and they will hope that they can edge past the Gujarat Lions.