Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions will lock horns in the 44th match of the VIVO IPL 2016 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. It is a must-win game for the home side who are currently placed in 6th position on the league table with just 4 wins from 10 matches. However, Gujarat, too, will want to win this match as it will assure them of a spot in the playoffs with 16 points in the bag.
The Challengers have been batting exceedingly well in the 2016 IPL but have suffered mainly because of their pedestrian bowling. In their last match against the Lions, RCB had set a target of 181 runs thanks to a Virat Kohli century. However, a poor showing from the bowlers ensured that they conceded the match by 6 wickets.
Meanwhile, GL have been among the more all-round teams in the tournament and their players have produced good performances with both bat and ball. The best bit about Gujarat's brilliant run in their first IPL season has been the fact that they have not relied on any particular individual to produce the goods.
The match promises to be a hard-fought one as Bangalore will be looking to keep themselves alive in the race for the playoffs whereas the Lions will be trying to become the first team to make it through.
Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Match date: 14 May 2016
Match timings: 16:00 IST, 10:30 GMT
If Royal Challengers Bangalore bat first
Predicted score: 170 and above
Batting has been RCB's key strength in the tournament and they will be looking to bank on it in their match against GL. Skipper Virat Kohli has been in roaring form and is currently the highest run-scorer in the tournament. AB de Villiers has also been quite brilliant and has played some important knocks for his team.
KL Rahul has been the surprise performer for the Bangalore side with more than 300 runs at a 55-plus average and 4 fifties. Shane Watson and Sachin Baby have also scored some quick runs late in the innings. Chris Gayle has been the only big disappointment among the batsmen as he has been dismissed cheaply in the 4 innings that he has played.
The RCB bowling attack has struggled to find its footing in the entire duration of the 2016 IPL. Watson has been their leading wicket-taker this season with 14 wickets and is the only bowler who has proved to be a threat to the opposition batsmen. Yuzvendra Chahal has also bowled well to some extent and is the second highest wicket-taker for the Challengers.
Aussie pacer Kane Richardson also picked up 7 wickets in 4 matches but proved to be quite expensive and was dropped from the side. Chris Jordan, who had been brought into the side midway through the tournament, has come up with a disastrous performance and has been conceding his runs at 12 per over.
Kohli may contemplate a few changes to the team that lost to Mumbai Indians, particularly in the bowling department. It will also be interesting to see whether Gayle will be a part of the RCB scheme of things or not.
If Gujarat Lions bat first
Predicted score: 165 and above
The Gujarat Lions batsmen have collectively performed quite well for their team in the 9th edition of the IPL. Skipper Suresh Raina has been their leading run-scorer in the tournament; however, he will not be seen in action against RCB. Aaron Finch may not have played in all matches for GL but he has done brilliantly in whatever chances he has received.
Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith have also fired at the top of the order and come up with a few destructive opening stands. The form of Dinesh Karthik in the middle order has been an added bonus for the Lions as he has played at least a couple of match-winning knocks for them already. The only concern in the batting has been the lack of form for all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja.
The bowlers have also contributed a lot to Gujarat's stellar performance in their debut season. Bravo has led the way with 12 wickets thus far and pacer Dhawal Kulkarni has also impressed for his 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7. Praveen Kumar has been a good support bowler throughout the tournament but he played the lead role in GL's victory over KKR.
Even the spinners have done a decent job for the Gujarat Lions in the 2016 IPL. Jadeja has grabbed 6 wickets at a good economy of under 8 per over whereas youngster Shivil Kaushik, who attracted attention for his strange action, has 4 wickets in his kitty. Among other bowlers, Pravin Tambe has picked up 5 wickets in the 6 matches he has played.
Aaron Finch is most likely to be the skipper for the Gujarat side in Suresh Raina's absence. However, it may be a difficult task for the team management to find someone to fill his shoes in the batting line-up for Saturday's match.
Probable Winners: Gujarat Lions
