IPL 5 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings - Match Preview
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings, in the 34th match of the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) today at their own backyard.
RCB was off to a poor start in the tournament but the star-studded team seems to have recovered from the early losses and is now placed at number six on the points table with eight points after seven games. However, a win today will put RCB at the top of
the table along with Delhi Daredevils. Therefore, one can say that this fixture is going to be a very important one for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DL-Vettori-c1384 and company.
On the other side of the coin, Chennai also has same points after equal number of matches but it is placed higher on the points-table than RCB because of a better run-rate.
RCB has one of the most formidable batting line-ups of the tournament in the presence of Chris Gayle, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Allan-Robert-Border-c43726 de Villeirs. Apart from Kohli, all of them are in sublime form and have been destructive in the on-going tournament.
Kohli is one of the best limited-overs batsmen in the world at the moment but he has been completely off-colour in the fifth season. However, he is a class player and one can expect him to come good any time in the tournament.
While talking about the out of form batsman, RCB’s captain, Vettori showed faith in the abilities of the right-hander and is confident that Kohli will win some matches for his team in the on-going season.
Vettori said, "Virat played very well in Chennai, and we are very new into the season. Virat's one of the best players in the world, so he is going to come good and win us a couple of games before this tournament is over."
Some of the cricket pundits have criticized RCB for their over-reliance on the great opening batsman from the Caribbean, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221. Vettori admitted that Gayle is one of the most dangerous batsmen of the modern-day game and is a genuine match-winner. However,
he does not agree that his team is wholly and solely depending on the tall left-hander.
"Yes I am happy the Chris (Gayle) is batting. He is one of the best T20 players in the world. But we are not wholly dependent on him and other batsmen were also capable of winning matches for us. We beat http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils in our first match without him,"
the RCB skipper said.
Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, have won the previous two seasons of the cash-rich league and are without doubt one of the favourites of the current season as well. The strength of the defending champions lies in their all-rounders like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DJ-Bravo-c1379,
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539, who can deliver the goods with both bat and ball.
South Africa’s young cricketer, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Faf-du-Plessis-c1427 has been the find of the tournament for the Super Kings and has been scoring runs consistently. He has emerged as a key player for the franchise because of his ability to counter the new ball and to give good
starts to his team.
Although, the Super Kings are the defending champion but RCB will start this fixture as favourite because of their comparatively stronger top-order batting and home advantage.
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