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Preview: M44 - RCB vs GL
14 May, 2016
Preview: M44 - RCB vs GL
14 May, 2016
What
Royal Challengers Bangalore will play host to the Gujarat Lions in Match 44 of VIVO IPL 2016.
RCB have four wins from ten outings and are placed in the bottom half of the table. In their most recent outing, they were humbled by the defending champions Mumbai Indians; batting first, RCB could only post 151-4 – their lowest total of the season – which the visitors comfortably chased down with eight balls to spare. The two-time runner-up are now faced with a straightforward equation – win each of the remaining matches stay in the race for the Playoffs, lose one match and it could be curtains on Playoff aspirations.
Courtesy their rollicking start, despite three defeats in their four recent matches the Gujarat Lions still occupy a place in the top half of the table. They have seven wins from 11 outings – six of which came in their first seven matches - and a win in this match will almost confirm their passage to the Playoffs. The Lions will be without their captain Suresh Raina – who will miss an IPL match for the first time ever – since he is away on paternity leave. Brendon McCullum is expected to take over the reins of the team. In recent times, the team’s batting hasn’t quite fired like it did in earlier weeks; that the team has had only two 50-run partnerships in the last four matches explains how poor the Lions batting performances have been in recent times. In their previous outing, the Lions outclassed the Kolkata Knight Riders, chasing down 158 to win with two overs to spare; they will take plenty of confidence from that performance and want to establish momentum heading into the business end of the tournament.
When
14 May 2016, 1600 Hrs IST
Where
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Weather
Temperature: Max 31°c, Min 30°c
Humidity: Max 82%
Wind: 11kmph
The Protagonists
Among the batsmen, one is spoilt for choices and could pick from more than half a dozen match-winners. Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Aaron Finch, Bravo McCullum and Dwayne Bravo are among the best in business and they will all be playing in one match. That only happens in the IPL.
The Lions have the edge on the bowling front – because they’ve got experienced and smart performers like Dwayne Bravo, Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni. RCB’s bowlers have had a largely forgettable tournament so far – because they’ve had to bowl on some batting beauties, have lacked discipline and have failed to execute plans. But their leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on Friday said the pitches in Bengaluru had become a tad slow, and he was hopeful that the bowlers would now join the party.
Head to Head
In the only previous meeting between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions – played at Rajkot – Virat Kohli’s maiden T20 century went in vain as the Lions chased down the 181-run target by 6 wickets, winning with three balls to spare.
Trivia
Before missing this match, Suresh Raina had appeared in 143 IPL matches without missing a single match from the league’s inception in 2008 until now. He is the league’s most-capped player and the top run-getter too.
In their first seven matches – six of which they won, the Gujarat Lions had an average opening partnership of 87.50. However, in the following four matches – only one of which they have won, the average opening partnership has been 18.50.
RCB’s Sreenath Arvind has an impressive record when bowling at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium; he has picked up 17 wickets in the 10 IPL matches he has played there. In 12 IPL matches he has played at other venues, he has picked up 15 wickets.
As a batting side, Royal Challengers Bangalore have the lowest dot ball percentage among all teams.
Gujarat Lions have the highest scoring rate in the Powerplay overs – 8.62.
There are only two bowlers in VIVO IPL 2016 to have bowled three maiden overs; one of them is the Gujarat Lions’ Dhawal Kulkarni.
RCB’s AB de Villiers needs 21 more runs to get to the 3000 IPL runs mark. If he gets to the milestone, he will be the 9th player overall and only the third overseas player to get there.
What Next
Both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions will square off against the Kolkata Knight Riders in their respective next fixtures. RCB will take on KKR at Kolkata on May 16, while the Gujarat Lions will play host to KKR at their adopted home ground – Kanpur – on May 19.
