IPL 6: RCB vs CSK - Royal Challengers Bangalore preview

The Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings clashes in the IPL have always proved to be mouth-watering contests. When the greatest domestic neighbour rivals lock their horns at Chennai on Saturday night, it could be another one of those epic encounters. When the Indian vice-captain takes on his captain, there could be a lot of battles within the game. Bangalore look to be in sublime touch, with young Virat Kohli and the monstrous Chris Gayle in excellent form with the willow, and R.P. Singh and Vinay Kumar doing good work with the ball.

RCB have probably got the most ferocious top four amongst all teams, with Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Kohli and AB de Villiers occupying the four rungs. Gayle-storms cannot be predicted and if one hits the city on Saturday, then the CSK bowlers might find the going very tough indeed. Ravichandran Ashwin and Dirk Nannes might just be too eager to capture the prize scalp of the Jamaican while in Mayank Agarwal, Bangalore have a young attacking opener capable of electrifying starts. A lot has already been discussed about the RCB skipper’s potential; and as if these three weren’t enough, de Villiers is definitely among the best game-changers in business. It could be an interesting battle between the top four and the MSDian tactics.

With Cheteshwar Pujara yet to recover from his injury, it has been the middle order that has more often than not been the Achilles’ heel for the men in Red, Gold and Blue. Moises Henriques seems to be the temporary solution for the side and his two fifties at Chennai against India last month could boost his confidence level. RCB have tested a variety of uncapped players at the No.6 spot, but none have seemed to create the required magic in the side.

With Mutthiah Muralitharan being banned from matches at Chennai, Daniel Vettori is expected to lead the spin attack in this game. Zaheer Khan has been seen practising with the squad and it would be interesting to see if he takes Jaydev Unadkat’s spot in the final XI. R.P. Singh has got used to bowling yorkers at the death and Vinay Kumar’s slower deliveries have ensures that he too has tasted a fair bit of success. But the tough challenge for the bowlers would be to handle world-class players like Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni.

Conditions

The second match of the season at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium will be a belter irrespective of the nature of the pitch, as the greatest players of this format of the game belong to these two-power packed sides. A typical Indian wicket, expect the pitch to assist the spinners.

Head to head

These two sides have met each other 13 times in the Indian Premier League, with Chennai leading the race with eight games. The last time they met at Chennai, Albie Morkel guided Chennai to a big win from an unlikely scenario, making 44 runs off the last two overs, making it one of the most exciting matches in recent times.

Key Players

Chris Gayle – The big-hitting Jamaican has carried the form of his previous season into this IPL; but when he takes on the CSK bowlers, the memories of the IPL 2012 final will definitely come into his mind, where RCB’s fate was sealed early in the first over after he was dismissed by Ashwin. He would be raring to set the Chepauk on fire this time around.

Virat Kohli – The dynamic young captain has been in good nick this time and his cricket seems to mature with each passing day. Unlike Chris Gayle, Kohli is much more reliable in Indian conditions and could be a bigger nightmare for the bowlers. His tactical knowledge against his national mates – Dhoni, Vijay and Raina – could help his team.

R.P. Singh – The man with the golden arm in the IPL has already been among the wickets in his two matches. His strength has been in his accuracy and his death bowling skills and the CSK battle could be a real test of mettle for the Indian pacer.

RCB’s strategy

With such a strong batting line-up, they could chase down any target with utter ease and their plan would be to bowl first and then make some easy work of the opposition bowlers.

Probable XI

RCB would likely stick to their winning combination, barring the inclusion of Vettori in the place of Murali.

Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli (C), Ab de Villiers, Moises Henriques, KB Arun Karthik (W), KL Rahul, Daniel Vettori, Vinay Kumar, R.P. Singh, Zaheer Khan / Jaydev Unadkat.