IPL 10: Match 17, RCB vs RPS – Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted XI

Both the teams RCB and RPS are in dire need of three points after they lost their respective matches against the Mumbai Indians and the Gujarat Lions. Both the teams were boosted by the return their captains, who are in red-hot form post the India-Australia Test series. The match is between Royal Challengers Bangalore’s heavy batting and a weak Pune’s bowling unit. The mismatch might be vital for the Challengers after suffering three defeats in the tournament thus far.

For the Rising Pune Supergiant, this match might be a crucial one after they failed to win any of their games following their impressive win against their local rivals Mumbai Indians in their opening fixture. The match against Gujarat Lions saw an improvement to the Supergiant’s bowling unit; they bowled much better than they did in the previous encounters. There were a lot of positives for both the sides coming into the game with Samuel Badree picking up a hat-trick for the home side.

The pitch at the Chinnaswamy stadium is likely to be slow and assist the spinners after it was seen in their favour in the previous encounter at the Stadium. Samuel Badree is once again the key bowler for the home side after his heroics in the previous match. Chris Gayle’s form is one “massive” worry for the home side, although it will take only one game for the big Jamaican to get back in form.

Here is the Predicted XI for today’s match

Openers (Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli)

Royal Challengers are unlikely to drop the big-hitting opener Chris Gayle from the playing XI despite his poor form. It was in Bangalore against a weak Pune bowling unit that Chris Gayle brought up marvellous innings of 175, which would not be forgotten by the Challengers’ fans.

Although there might be changes from the management, it looks very unlikely given that Chris Gayle’s favourite scoring oppositions are the team from Pune

Virat Kohli returned from a shoulder injury in some sublime form. The Indian captain scorched and smashed the ball to all parts of the park in his quickfire knock the other day. It was a shame that the other batsmen could not capitalise on the knock by their captain.

Kohli’s aggression too was an impactful factor from the other game. His attitude and aggression on the field not only helps to motivate the side but also to improve the performances of their key players. Giving the ball to the West Indian Samuel Badree was probably a decisive move by the captain, and he would hope that leg-spinner continues to play well.

Middle Order(AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav)

The South African batsman, also called “Mr.360” failed to capitalise on his bright start that he had in the tournament in his opening match against the Delhi Daredevils. Krunal Pandya, Mumbai Indian’s all-rounder, accounted for the South African’s dismissal third time in the tournament.

Virat Kohli would brush aside Mr.360’s performance against the Mumbai Indians as the Challengers face a depleted Pune bowling unit. This match might turn out to be just the one that the batsman had hoped for.

The opener has not utilised his opportunities to the fullest in this year’s tournament. Virat Kohli would be hopeful that all his batsman stays in good knick of form as it might make a massive difference to the team.

The former Kings XI Punjab opener would be hopeful to get a few balls off the middle of the bat in an attempt to boost his confidence going into the latter stages of the tournament.

The wicket-keeping batsman Kedar Jadhav had exploded into the tournament after his knock against his former side Delhi Daredevils, the knock helped his side get past the line on the given day. Since then, the wicket-keeper has not been able to live up to the expectations with dismal knocks against the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab.

As a senior player of this team, Jadav must step up and ensure that there are further no hiccups with the bat on any given day.

All-rounders (Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi)

The all-rounder opened the innings with the ball for the side from Bengaluru. Binny’s performance in the tournament has been a mere shadow of his performances at the Rajasthan Royals.

Since then, the all-rounder has not been able to light up the tournament with his bat, while getting few overs in and between with the ball. The Karnataka player must step up and put his “A” game when his side needs.

Pawan Negi has had a quiet tournament thus far in the tenth season of IPL. The left-arm spinner has done well whenever his side has needed his help, especially his last over heroics against the Delhi Daredevils where he knocked the in-form Rishabh Pant’s leg-stump for a walk.

Negi would want to get more overs under his name. In spite of his heroics against Delhi Daredevils, the left-arm spinner has not got a chance with the ball in his hand.

Bowlers (Tymal Mills, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal, Samuel Badree)

The English bowler has not been able to live up to the price tag of 12 crores paid by the management to acquire his services. The left-arm quick has performed well in parts during the first four matches of the tournament.

The pacer has mixed his slower deliveries and his yorkers to perfection but has not been able to live up to the expectation of the fans. The match against Pune would be a great test for the Englishman, and it would be amazing to see him perform against the likes of Smith and Rahane, who have been in excellent touch of form.

The Bengaluru boy Sreenath Aravind has failed to perform at the highest stage of Indian Domestic tournament. Aravind, who is well-known for his variations with the ball- be it the slower deliveries or be it the toe crushing yorkers has failed to deliver the goods time and time again when his captain needs him to.

It would certainly be a very good test for the Karnataka-pacer to get back into the form that he displayed in his first season with the Royal Challengers.

The leading wicket taker of the tournament for the Challengers last season Yuzvendra Chahal has not been able to provide the breakthroughs in the same pace to the last season. The leggie from Haryana has not been able to back up his incredible season last year this year.

The leggie is constantly under pressure after the batsmen have been able to read his deliveries considerably well after the last season. Kohli would want the leggie to bring his best game to the fore when the side faces Steve Smith and co at their home.

The West Indian spinner Samuel Badree has taken the tournament by storm with a hat trick in just his first game this season with the Challengers. Badree bagged the wickets of Parthiv Patel, Mitchell McCleneghan and Rohit Sharma to complete his har-trick.

Virat Kohli is likely to deploy the spinner in the opening overs during the powerplay, and the leggie would want to prove his worth to Daniel Vettori after not been given a chance in the team’s opening three games.