Royal Challengers Bangalore

IPL 2014: 49th match – Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 22, 2014

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Match 49 of Pepsi IPL 2014 will feature the Kolkata Knight Riders clashing with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

This is a huge contest, given how the teams have stacked up in the standings at this point. KKR have an edge over their opponents, for who it is a do-or-die affair. KKR have 14 points from 12 matches and need one more to win to seal the third Playoffs slot. Gautam Gambhir’s team is on a roll, having won five matches on the bounce.

RCB’s defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad has made things difficult for the team from Garden City. The way the table has taken shape, there is a possibility of one of five teams progressing to the Playoffs on 14 points, and for RCB, who have 10 points from 12 matches, to stay in the race, they have to win both their remaining fixtures and hope other results will help their cause too.

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IPL 2014: 46th match – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 19, 2014

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With another 10-odd games left in the league stages of the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders have their noses ahead by a proverbial inch but Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad are also in with a chance of finishing in the top four, although the latter will need a little help from the other teams.

With five wins from 11 games, Royal Challengers need to win all their remaining matches and hope that Sunrisers can beat Knight Riders in their next match to smoothen the route to the playoffs. For Sunrisers, a loss to Royal Challengers will draw the curtains on their chances of a playoff spot. If Sunrisers win, they need to keep that form going for the rest of their games and hope for other teams to fail in order to boost their chances.

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IPL 2014: 42nd match – Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 18, 2014

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Match 42 of Pepsi IPL 2014 will see the Chennai Super Kings clashing with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

CSK, with eight wins under their belt, already have a foot in the Playoffs and they will now shift their focus to be among the top two teams at the end of the league phase. In their most recent outing, they outclassed the Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad.

Virat Kohli’s boys started the tournament with a bang, winning their first two matches, but have since slipped to sixth position in the table and are barely in the race for the Playoffs. They have four wins from 10 matches and are tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad on eight points, but ranked lower due to their inferior net run-rate. Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers exploded at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and helped RCB overcome the Delhi Daredevils before their four-day break. The batting line-up and the bowling attack have fired at different stages in the competition and the team will need both units to fire in unison if they are to progress beyond the league stage.

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IPL2014: 38th match – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Daredevils, May 13, 2014

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Royal Challengers Bangalore host the Delhi Daredevils in Match 38 of Pepsi IPL 2014.

RCB’s campaign has been marred by three consecutive defeats – against Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals. In fact, the last time they collected two points was after their home win against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 4. Since then, they have conceded an average of 192 runs per innings, and have claimed an average of six wickets per game. If they are to qualify, their bowling unit clearly needs to pull up its socks.

DD also have not had the best of homecomings since the UAE leg ended. They have, in fact, not won a single match in the month of May – their last triumph came against Mumbai Indians on April 27 at Sharjah. While they may be all but out of Playoff contention, Kevin Pietersen and co. will want to play for pride and will try to register some memorable wins in the upcoming matches.

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IPL2014: 27th match – Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 6, 2014

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In their last meeting in Dubai, Royal Challengers Bangalore stomped all over an unsure Mumbai Indians, restricting the latter to 115 and then chasing it down with seven wickets to spare, despite being reduced to 17 for 3.

Both teams will meet on Tuesday at the Wankhede with similar wins in their previous games, wins that could easily have turned into defeats had it not been for individual performances and the teams are similar on many other counts, too. Mumbai and Royal Challengers have powerful line-ups on paper, but that potential has been inconsistent on the field, save for the odd knocks from their stars.

Bowlers from both sides have, given the opportunity, done well but have also found themselves defending a few sub-par totals. Royal Challengers bowlers, however, have had a better run than Mumbai, with the presence of genuine quicks in Mitchell Starc and Varun Aaron and a legspinner in Yuzvendra Chahal.

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IPL2014: 24th match – Royal Challenger Bangalore v Sunrisers Hyderabad, 4 May, 2014

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With campaigns that coughed and spluttered about in the UAE, both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad will have one big target from Sunday's game: a momentum-granting win. Both teams are in the bottom half of the points table with similar figures of two wins in five games, although Royal Challengers are ahead on better net run rate.

At this point, Royal Challengers are also the team with more concerns when compared to Sunrisers. The headliners in their batting line-up have not fired as expected and their last two innings - where they were restricted to 70 and 124 - did not allow a competent bowling attack much room.

Royal Challengers also have the problem of their overseas options not firing, with Chris Gayle admittedly not yet 100% and Albie Morkel's lack of impact with the bat and ball. Unless he's injured, Ravi Rampaul may be a better pick in place of Morkel and given the batting-friendly tracks in India, it may not be a bad idea to give the talented Vijay Zol a chance.

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