IPL 2017 RCB vs RPS: Rising Pune Supergiant's today's probable playing XI against Royal Challengers Bangalore,Match 17

Ajinkya Rahane: The opener who needs to lay the foundation for the side. Rahane’s last three scores read 0,10, and 19 and the Supergiant have been struggling because of his inability to give the side the start that they need. In the past, Rahane has done well at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and he will hope to look back at those fond memories and get back to form on Sunday.

*Faf du Plessis: The foreigner who must play for the side. du Plessis will provide Rahane with the ideal foil at the top and ensure the middle-order is not exposed early in the innings. Add to his batting, he is also an outstanding fielder and that will any day be a bonus for any side, in any format.

*Steve Smith(C): The leader of the batting order. Smith will once again have a huge task up his sleeve on Sunday as he looks to get his side back to winning ways. The right-hander has now been in India for three months and will know the conditions like the back of his hand. He will have to step up and deliver on Sunday.

*Ben Stokes: The all-rounder, who scored a fifty in the game against the Kings XI Punjab last week, needs to step both in the batting as well as the bowling department. The owners spent a fortune on him at the auction and it’s time he begins to repay the faith shown by them.

MS Dhoni(WK): The man under the firing line, for his batting. Dhoni has just found it difficult to get going so far and perhaps, the management would do well to send him at 4, thereby giving him a few more overs to settle in. He will have good memories of this venue since a couple of months back, he registered his maiden T20I fifty here and on Sunday, he will need to come up with a similar performance.

Manoj Tiwary: The Indian has provided the side with some fine cameos down the order and on Sunday, will need to do something on those lines. Tiwary usually bats in the Top 5 for Bengal but in this side, he will find it hard to get a place over there. However, he has the chance to widen his skill by playing a finisher’s role in this side.

Extra Cover: IPL 2017: Steve Smith "not bothered" about Dhoni's poor form, backs him going forward

Rajat Bhatia: The bowling all-rounder in the side and one who needs to control the middle-overs. Bhatia’s role will be to provide wickets in the 7-14 over period and on a Chinnaswamy pitch that has been dry recently, he does have it in him to give those breakthroughs.

Rahul Chahar: The 17-year-old leg-spinner has been impressive in patches. He seemed alright in his debut against the Kings Xi Punjab but lacked a bit of consistency. Hopefully, in the course of the tournament, he can attain that over the course of this competition.

*Imran Tahir: The best bowler for the Supergiant in this competition so far. Although he was taken to the cleaners in the last game against the Gujarat Lions, Tahir certainly adds a lot of value for Smith and will need to bring his experience into play on Sunday.

Ankit Sharma: With the pitch assisting the spinners in recent times, the Supergiants could be tempted to play the third spinner in the squad and even throw him the new ball against Kohli and Gayle.

Shardul Thakur: The Mumbai pacer had a good debut in the game against the Gujarat Lions on Friday and he will look to put up a similar performance on Sunday as well.

• *indicates overseas players.