So once again in the Indian summer, it is going be Virat Kohli versus Steven Smith, yes Indian captain and Australian captain will be facing each other in the IPL 2017 now. Recently they both were in headlines for Border – Gavaskar Trophy. Their relationship in the series was like Tom and Jerry on and off the field.
Allegations were thrown on each other, words exchanged through media conferences and now they are up again for their respective franchises. Virat Kohli is coming back from shoulder injury, he sustained in the third Test match, against Australia in Ranchi.
Overview:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli’s comeback will be a big boost for Royal Challengers Bangalore, coming back from injury in his firs inning never looked out of shape. With Ab de Villiers already batting at his best and Virat Kohli back in the eleven, will take some pressure off from Chris Gayle. Though their bowling still lacks stability. Samuel Badree’s presence will also inspire Royal Challengers Bangalore setup in Bowling. Samuel Badree one of the best T20 bowlers in the world cricket.
Rising Pune Supergiants- Pune is yet to find the right balance to their squad, They need to make some hard changes to their bowling line-up. You can not only rely on Imran Tahir. Bangalore’s stadium is relatively small from other grounds and leg-spinner performance will always carry question mark before the start of the game. Pune needs to find some balance in bowling. They still have Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur waiting on the bench.
View On Think Tank-
Royal Challengers Bangalore- Team management will be really happy to see a full strength RCB squad taking the field against Pune, RCB might look to use Samuel Badree early in power plays as he is known for containing batsmen and providing an early breakthrough.
Rising Pune Supergiants- In Bangalore, a small ground, Pune batsman will look to make full use of the conditions, it is known for run-fest games. Pune’s battings is equipped with players like Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Du Plessis, MS dhoni.
Tracking the Strength-
Royal Challengers Bangalore- Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB Devilliers, Samuel Badree, what more you need for T20 cricket in your team? With Indian players like Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav backing up these stars is the main strength RCB has in their squad.
Rising Pune Super Giants- Batting! Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Faf du Plessis in the top order known for giving a steady start in the beginning and then, in the end, MS Dhoni is there to finish off the innings. The only worry they need to look at is their fast bowling and someone to support Imran Tahir from the other end.
Possibilities in the Lineup-
Royal Challengers Bangalore- I don’t expect any changes in RCB squad from their last squad. With Virat, Ab de Villiers and Badree back in the squad RCB will be soon back at his best.
Rising Pune Supergiants- If I have to pick Pune squad, I will make changes in their Indian bowling line-up, Shardul Thakur or Jaydev Unadkat in place of Deepak Chahar.
Positive Note-
Both teams had not done well enough to claim any of them is going to the final and lift the trophy. But it is the time when IPL will pick up its pace and teams will be trying to take their stable places on the table so it is high time for bot the teams to find themselves in winning shape.
Prediction-
Bangalore has a history of being run-fest and both the teams are bank on their batting so we can expect a high-scoring encounter between both the teams. Team chasing will have an upper hand in this game, though 210-220 can be a challenging total.
Royal Challengers Bangalore-
Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli(C), Ab Devilliers, Kedar Jadhaw, Mandeep Singh. Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Tymal Mills, Shreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal, Samuel Badree
Rising Pune Supergiants-
Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Faf Duplessis, Steven Smith(C), MS Dhoni, Ben Stokes, Rajat Bhatia, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Jaydev Unadkat, Ashok Dinda