After a crushing outing against CSK on April 25, RCB have had some time to reflect upon their misery and work out possible solutions for their ills. KKR, unfortunately, don’t enjoy such luxury at the moment. They’ve made their way to Bengaluru just a day after suffering a huge loss to Delhi Daredevils that involved conceding 79 runs in the last five overs.
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The two teams have suffered largely through their bowling incompetence, and lead the season for the worst economy rates,RCB – 9.70, KKR – 9.28.RCB’s woes extend to their bowling at the death, where they’ve conceded at 13.30 this year. An improvement to those returns will be RCB’s first step in the right direction from this stage of the season
OPENERS:
Virat Kohli
RCB Skipper’s form has petered out since the last few games after a blistering start to the IPL.His captaincy is also being questioned after he kept bowling Corey Anderson even after the Kiwi was hit for runs in his initial overs.Being a strong leader,Kohli will love to win the game and be on track for the rest of the season.
Also Read: Fantasy Tips for RR vs SRH
Quinton De Kock
The South African wicketkeeper-batsman has been in good touch since the start of the IPL. He is getting his team off to a flying start but is unable to convert those starts into big knocks, something that he will be looking to do in the upcoming matches.
MIDDLE ORDER:
.AB de Villiers
RCB have played six matches this season and out of the five, they managed to win just two. One man who starred in both the matches is South African import AB de Villiers as he scored match-winning fifties in both the games. De Villiers is in good form and the team management will want him to carry on his good work with the bat against KKR and RCB’s upcoming matches this season.But you feel,there is only so much the superman can do,he needs more support from the likes of Kohli and De Kock.
Mandeep Singh
Mandeep Singh has been a brilliant finisher for RCB this season, scoring at more than a strike rate of 180 in the final few overs,he will want to continue his good form and provide a flourish to the innings.
ALL ROUNDERS:
Pawan Negi
With the inclusion of Moeen Ali,Corey Anderson will make way for Pawan Negi,who allows Kohli another bowling option both in the power play and the middle overs.
Washington Sundar
A lot was expected from Washington Sundar ahead of the 2018 IPL. But, the all-rounder form Tamil Nadu has looked off-colour this season apart from a couple of matches against Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. Washington coming back to form will be crucial for RCB as he is one of the vital cogs in their bowling unit.
Chris Woakes
Even though Chris Woakes has been amongst the wickets, he has been leaking runs at will. Skipper Kohli would like to see an economical Woakes and the Englishman will be hoping to keep the run flow under control in the upcoming matches.He will most likely be brought back into the team after Kohli did not have any frontline bowlers to finish off at the depth.
Moeen Ali
He will most likely replace Colin De Grandhomme in the starting line up.The game could see the Englishman getting his first game,he is a aggressive middle order batsmen who plays spin well and can give genuine off spin option to Kohli if he needs.
BOWLERS:
Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav has been RCB’s best bowler so far and apart from the match against the Royals where he conceded 59 runs, he has given RCB the perfect start while bowling but has not been effective enough in the death. Kohli will look to use him in a similar way he was used against CSK against whom he finished his quota of overs early.
Yuzvendra Chahal
He was back to his best against a strong CSK team and picked up 2 wickets conceding only at a economy rate of 5.75 in his 4 overs.
Mohammed Siraj
When Mohammed Siraj was given the nod to play for RCB, he was expected to go for runs as he was taken to the cleaners in his recent T20 matches, be it with India or Hyderabad. But, the youngster came good in both the matches he played and will hope to continue his good work.
Another combination that RCB could opt for is getting Manan Vohra in for Pawan Negi and make him open, Virat Kohli could slot in at 3 and all other batsmen move down one place in the batting order. This combination will still provide Virat Kohli with 6 bowling options.
