Live Scorecard & Streaming Online, GL vs RCB, IPL 2016 Qualifier 1 - Live Updates on Gujarat Lions vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
It is the Qualifier 1 of the IPL and the clash of the top 2 teams in the league. The table toppers Gujarat Lions will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The winning team will go straight into the final and the losing team will play the winner of the Eliminator match between SRH and KKR in the second Qualifier. Then the winner of the Qualifier 2 will be the second team to make it to the final.
RCB has been in a magnificent form winning the last 4 games and storming to the number 2 spot after being in a spot of bother at one stage. GL, on the other hand, lost track a bit, having lost 3 games in a row. But they made a comeback and won 3 out of their last 4 games to secure a pole position.
The Match will be live from 20:00 IST, 2:30 GMT. Watch live streaming of GL v/s RCB on www.starsports.com and www.hotstar.com. Mobile users can watch live streaming of GL v/s RCB on the Hotstar App. You can also watch the live telecast of GL v/s RCB on Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Max. The match will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
The two teams had met each other twice in the group stage. They are squared up at one victory apiece. Virat Kohli took a liking to the GL bowling and smashed marvellous hundreds in both the games. First time around, GL chased down the massive score of 180 set by RCB comfortably.
So, in the next game, Kohli and co. raised the bar and scored a humungous 248. AB de Villiers and Kohli both notched up huge hundreds to break many records. This time, the RCB bowlers were able to suppress the GL batsmen due to scoreboard pressure and bowled them out for 104.
For RCB, the show has been dominated by Kohli. His passion and determination have taken the team single-handedly to the playoffs. He has been in the form of his life and has already broken almost all the batting records that ever existed in the IPL.
He has amassed a mammoth 919 runs in 14 innings at an average of 91.9. He has scored 4 centuries and 6 half-centuries and batted at a strike rate of 152.4 and also remained unbeaten on 4 occasions. The numbers are gigantic which certainly make him the best T20 batsman of the modern era.
AB de Villiers has been the perfect foil for him. Both have put up excellent partnerships which have been sheer treats for the fans. AB is currently 3rd on the list of top run-getters with 603 runs in 14 innings. He has a prodigious strike rate of 170.33 to go with an average of 50.25.
Apart from these two, Chris Gayle has also picked up form with the innings of 73 against KXIP.
In the bowling, Yuzvendra Chahal is the current holder of the purple cap in the tournament. He has picked up 19 wickets in 11 innings and has the best strike rate of 13 amongst the top 10 wicket takers. Chahal has been shining well above the rest for RCB. Shane Watson is the other who is amongst the top 10 with 16 wickets.
GL line-up has been boosted by the return of their skipper Suresh Raina. In the last couple of games, he has played like the typical Raina in the IPL. Earlier, he did not contribute as per his standards, but off late, the strokes and the timing of the shots are back. And the best thing is that he is handling the short ball well too. He is the only batsmen currently in the top 10 run-getters for GL.
Dwayne Smith has also played a few devastating knocks in the recent times. He has been accompanied by the other dasher Brendon McCullum. Both have been a daunting opening combination for the opposition. Aaron Finch has the most number of fifties for the team with 4 but he has been batting down the order, not what he is accustomed to. Dinesh Karthik has played some useful innings for them as well.
Dwayne Bravo and Dhawal Kulkarni are placed at number 9 and 10 respectively on the list of highest wicket-takers. Along with Praveen Kumar, Kulkarni has given early breakthroughs for the team a number of times. Dwayne Bravo then comes on to handle the death bowling. Ravindra Jadeja has had a cold tournament and has managed only 6 wickets so far. Surprisingly, Dwayne Smith has been their best bowler in the last couple of games and bagged 6 wickets. Against KKR, he had figures of 8/4 in the 4 overs.
The match will be played in Bangalore which has a strip that produces big runs every time. The last two matches between these teams also produced huge runs. With the kind of batting line-ups both teams possess, this one is also expected to be the same.
The match will be broadcasted live on SuperSport in Africa, Geo Super in Pakistan, Maasranga in Bangladesh, Set Max and Sony Six in Bhutan, ESPN in the US, and Sky Sports in the UK. The live streaming of the match can also be watched on CricketGateway.com in Australia.