IPL2014: 18th match – Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore, April 28, 2014

September 17, 2020April 28, 2014 by PunterPolls

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A team wanting to make it to the knockout stage of the IPL can only afford a few horror matches in the season. Royal Challengers Bangalore have already had a couple of them, one after the other, early in their season. A campaign that started with encouraging wins now needs to shake off the bad inertia. It can only be a good thing that they face Kings XI Punjab, the strongest team on current form, next; win this and get the anaesthetic you need to numb the wounds from last two losses.

It doesn't sound easy and it's going to be even more difficult in reality. After two good wins, question marks have now been pasted all over on Royal Challengers' batsmen. It now seems that only the inclusion of Chris Gayle can perk the team up. However, there is still no conclusive news on his fitness. Irrespective of Gayle's availability, the rest of the batsmen, especially the middle order, will need to shrug off the uncertainty that has set in. Royal Challengers' bowling is better placed at the moment and they are likely to bring back the impressive Varun Aaron after resting him from the previous game.

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IPL2014: 17th match – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Chennai Super Kings, April 27, 2014

September 17, 2020April 27, 2014 by PunterPolls

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Match 17 of Pepsi IPL 2014 will feature the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings.

Both teams come into this contest on the back of wins. SRH edged past the Delhi Daredevils in Dubai, while CSK finished off the Mumbai Indians with precision. SRH have two points on the board after three outings and are placed in the bottom half of the table, while CSK are comfortably placed among the top two teams with three wins from four outings.

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IPL2014: 16th match – Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians, April 27, 2014

September 17, 2020April 27, 2014 by PunterPolls

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Match 16 of Pepsi IPL 2014 will feature the Delhi Daredevils, who wrap their UAE leg of Pepsi IPL 2014, taking on the defending champions Mumbai Indians.

Both teams haven’t had the best of times so far. Delhi Daredevils have a solitary win from four matches – that win came against the Kolkata Knight Riders two matches ago. Post that, they suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Chennai Super Kings and finished one stroke away from a win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their most recent outing.

Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, have had a forgettable run so far and will want to turn things around quickly. They started the season on a disastrous note, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders by a massive 41 runs, before going down to Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in their subsequent matches.

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IPL2014: 15th match – Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab, April 26, 2014

September 17, 2020April 26, 2014 by PunterPolls

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Kings XI Punjab, the only undefeated team in Pepsi IPL 2014, take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 15th match of the season.

KXIP have been unstoppable; they’ve steamrolled all their three opponents so far and are comfortably perched at the top of the table with six points and a very healthy net run-rate. Their opponents have been unsuccessful – for most parts – in their attempts to stop Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, while the KXIP bowlers even rolled over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their most recent match.

KKR, on the other hand, will be riding high after their two-run victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Despite posting a modest 150, they were disciplined during RCB’s run-chase, and strangled a formidable RCB line-up that could only score 25 runs in the last four overs.

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IPL2014: 14th match – Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore, April 26, 2014

September 17, 2020April 26, 2014 by PunterPolls

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Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals will go head to head in Match 14 of Pepsi IPL 2014. Both teams have played three matches so far this season. RR’s solitary victory was when they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in their season opener, while RCB defeated Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians before going down to KKR most recently.

Both teams will be annoyed and hurting given that despite holding a firm grip on the match for the better part of 40 overs, they couldn’t finish things off. RR restricted a formidable Chennai Super Kings line-up to 140, but there weren’t too many partnerships when it was their turn to bat and the team folded up eight runs short of their target.

Royal Challengers Bangalore were in the driver’s seat at the start of the final over of the run-chase. Needing six off the final three balls, the scales tilted in favour of their opponents, Kolkata Knight Riders, when Chris Lynn pulled off a stunner at the midwicket boundary to send back the dangerous AB de Villiers. Albie Morkel managed only three more runs off the final two deliveries, leaving RCB three short of their target of 151.

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IPL2014: 13th match – Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians, April 25, 2014

September 17, 2020April 25, 2014 by PunterPolls

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The two traditional heavyweights of the IPL – Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians – go head to head in Match 13 of Pepsi IPL 2014.

The Chennai Super Kings – as is their habit – are gleefully perched in the top half of the table. They were blown away by Kings XI Punjab in their season opener, but came back strongly to outclass Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals. The batting caved in meekly in the previous match against RR, but after useful runs from the lower helped them to a respectable total, the bowlers stepped up to restrict the opposition to 133.

Mumbai Indians are the defending champions, but they have had a disastrous start to the season, losing both their matches. Kolkata Knight Riders whipped them by 41 runs in the inaugural match of the season, after which RCB handed them a seven-wicket defeat. MI have managed a total of 237 runs in 40 overs so far, losing 16 wickets in the process. In contrast, they have only managed to pick up eight wickets while conceding 279 runs in 37.3 overs. MI, coming back to the league after a five-day break, will realise that there is an urgent need to get their act together quickly.

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