The 19th match of the VIVO IPL 2016 will see a face-off between a wounded Gujarat Lions team and a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore side. After a dream start to the campaign with three wins on the trot, the high-flying Lions were brought down to the harsh realms as a result of a comprehensive 10-wicket defeat meted out to them by an ever-improving Sunrisers Hyderabad squad. The Royal Challengers Bangalore, playing away from home for the third time running, have been defending scores of 170-plus in all their matches so far. In their last match against Pune, they produced some good bowling at the death overs to clinch a 13-run victory.
The Lions’ victories in their first three matches were largely inspired by Aaron Finch with three man-of-the-match performances. He failed to score in the last match, though, and while one cannot say that the Lions are dependent only on Finch, the Victorian’s failure somehow did manage to lower the morale of the team in that match. He will be looking to get back his usual mojo in front of the home fans for this one. Fellow opener Brendon McCullum will also look to fire as he has been nowhere near his best this time around. His 17-ball-18 in the last match did little to enhance his reputation.
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Captain Suresh Raina’s return to form in the last match with a handy 51-ball-75 was about the only positive thing in their defeat and he will be looking to carry on with that form. Dinesh Karthik has been patchy, both with the bat and behind the stumps. So he will need to get a grip and provide support to the middle order. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has underperformed by his standards, to say the least, failing both with the bat and ball last time out. How big is his appetite for runs and wickets is yet to be seen. Ravindra Jadeja returned to action for the last match with a lazy performance of a run-a-ball 14 and later with a bowling economy of 7.05. He would want to make a mark. So would Akshdeep Nath, the talented lad from UP who failed to do anything significant in the previous match.
James Faulkner might be brought in for Dale Steyn after the South African speedster has been just a shadow of his old self so far. Joining Faulkner in the pace attack would be Dhawal Kulkarni, who has been economical. Veteran spinner Pravin Tambe has 4 wickets to his name so far, but he will be looking to be more on the economical side. Captain Raina might just play an extra spinner in the form of Sarabjit Ladda or Shadab Jakati at the expense of the so-far-wicketless Praveen Kumar.
RCB hardly put a foot wrong in their last outing against Pune. Captain Virat Kohli and Proteas batting maestro AB de Villiers have made sure that Chris Gayle’s temporary absence is not felt. They are ranked at #2 and #3 in the runs chart with 267 and 249 runs respectively. And while Shane Watson is yet to fire, it really is a matter of time before he joins the run-scoring spree. Sarfaraz Khan has been a lynchpin in the middle order and young Mandeep Singh will be hoping to prove a point after he was not even required to bat last time around. Stuart Binny is always a handy all-rounder to have in a team, although he has underperformed so far.
Harshal Patel gave away 25 runs in one over against Pune, so it would not be surprising if Yuzvendra Chahal is brought in. South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who has replaced the injured Samuel Badree, picked up Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket at a crucial juncture in the last match, despite giving away 36 runs in his 4 overs. He would be wanting to build on that decent start. Iqbal Abdullah would want to pick up a few wickets and pacer Kane Richardson, with magical figures of 3-0-13-3 in the last match would be wanting to get back to his usual business.
Gujarat Lions vs Royal Challengers Bangalore 2016 LIVE Streaming Details:
TV Channel: Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Max
Online Stream: www.starsports.com, Hotstar App
Match Date: 24 April 2016, Saturday
Match Timing: 16:00 IST, 10:30 GMT
Match Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
Broadcast Details for watching the match:
| India | Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony ESPN |
| Africa | SuperSport |
| Pakistan | Geo Super |
| Bangladesh | Maasranga |
| Caribbean | Sportsmax |
| Bhutan | Set Max, Sony Six |
| Canada | Sportsnet |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport |
| Malaysia | Astro |
| Sri Lanka | Carlton Sports Network |
| Hong Kong | PCCW |
| The Middle East and North Africa | OSN |
| United States | ESPN |
| Singapore | StarHub, Singtel |
| Australia | CricketGateway.com |
| The United Kingdom | Sky Sports |
| Nepal | Sony Six, Sony Max |
| Brunei | Astro |
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