IPL 2019, Match 39, RCB vs CSK: Why Royal Challengers Bangalore will win the game
In what will be an absolute cracker of a game, Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore go head to head against the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings side in Match 39 of IPL 2019 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. The journeys have so far been contrasting for these two franchises with the Super Kings losing just two out of their nine matches while the Royal Challengers have emerged victorious only twice in nine games.
RCB enters this contest at the backdrop of a much-needed win against KKR while Chennai suffered a crushing six-wicket defeat in their last game against SRH at Hyderabad. Let us look at three reasons why Kohli's men might prevail over the Men in Yellow in this epic Sunday evening clash at the Chinnaswamy!
RCB's high morale
It was a morale-boosting victory at the Eden Gardens for RCB who are languishing at the bottom of the table with just two wins out of nine matches. While skipper Kohli registered his fifth IPL ton, all-rounder Moeen Ali regained his touch with the willow when most needed.
Comeback man Dale Steyn and domestic talent Navdeep Saini starred with the ball in RCB's thrilling 10-run win against KKR. The players will be riding high on confidence after the much-needed away win over Dinesh Karthik's men and will be determined to overcome CSK's challenge at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
A 'rejuvenated' bowling line-up
Apart from the death bowling which remains to be RCB's major Achilles heel, the performance of their bowlers in the powerplays so far this season has been another cause of concern. Kohli's men, who managed just three wickets in the first eight games during the powerplay, received a major boost against Kolkata Knight Riders as the legendary Dale Steyn donned the RCB jersey once again after nine years.
Steyn's return had an immediate impact as the Royal Challengers took three wickets in the first 5 overs, with the Proteas speedster picking up two crucial wickets (Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill). The RCB bowlers failed to capitalize on the good start as they were taken to the cleaners by Nitish Rana and Andre Russell who almost took the game away from the visitors. Nevertheless, with Steyn returning to the fold RCB's bowling looks rejuvenated ahead of the much-awaited clash against Chennai at home.
Pumped-up Virat Kohli: The X-factor
As far as the Royal Challengers are concerned, there is still an outside chance of making the playoffs if they win all the upcoming five games and the other results go in their favour.
Kohli's fabulous knock at the Eden Gardens signifies the fact that the Indian skipper is hungry for more runs and success in the remainder of the tournament to turn around his team's fortunes. Expect a pumped up Kohli- the batsman and captain to unleash his best on Sunday to overcome CSK.
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