Follow Us“Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
For Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Shawshank Redemption connotation is the closest to the bone. It is a franchise that boasts of one of the most loyal and passionate fanbases ever but when their fortunes ebb and fall in a capricious fashion, you could hardly do anything about it but HOPE.
It is the hope that has helped them survive for 16 years. Year after year, the 12th Man Army return to paint the Chinnaswamy red and go "RRRR CCCC BBB" at the top of their lungs. They don't care about their previous heartbreaks, but it is the lucid tangibility of the future that makes them fall for RCB over and over again.
It is this hope that is the basement on which their 2023 sojourn has been built. And when they will host Gujarat Titans on Sunday, who have lost only one game on the road this season, there would be nothing less than a passionate bunch of people painting the entire Bengaluru Cantonment Area - from Church Street to Lavelle Road, from St. Marks Road to MG Road in one colour - with a hopeful smile on their faces. Don't even ask us what would happen if they lose.
Now with KKR out of the way, the fourth position on the points table is there to take. It is going to be a direct shoot-out between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, and with the latter having a better NRR, they should be through with a win. If Mumbai manage to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad at home, which, in all probability, they will, RCB would know the exact scenario that would power them to the playoffs. Hence, from a situational standpoint, it couldn't have been better.
For Hardik Pandya and Co, this is a game to test the waters. While the Titans have won most of their matches on the road without breaking a sweat, their middle order hasn’t arrived this season. That would be a considerable hindrance in the qualifier if they don’t sort things out on the go, and the RCB game, especially Chinnaswamy being a batting venue, would provide them a chance to know their weak points.
Things to look forward to
RCB’s powerplay bowling display on fire
Bowling had traditionally been one of RCB’s weak points in the Indian Premier League, but this season, they have taken a massive step forward in that direction. As a matter of fact, RCB bowlers have taken 32 wickets in the first six overs, which is by far the most for a team this year. Their success at this phase has been key for them as they have lost just one of six matches where they have taken three or more wickets in the powerplay.
Mohammed Siraj and Wayne Parnell have been the main contributors with the new ball, with Siraj himself taking 17 wickets, which is the most for him in an IPL season. He has been at his best in the first six and last five overs, where he has taken seven-plus wickets each at a good bowling SR, which is commendable and will be a contributing factor if RCB want to enter playoffs.
Beware of the Mohammed Shami threat
There has hardly been any side where role definition is so prudently understood. It is a known fact that Mohammed Shami has his share of weaknesses in death overs, but the fact that he has been fantastic with the new ball makes it easier for Ashish Nehra and Hardik Pandya to plan. In his most recent fixture, the pacer returned figures of 3/17 in his three overs inside the first six overs, yet again providing a good start to his team.
Shami’s bowling performance in the first six overs has been impactful for GT as they have lost only one out of seven matches where the bowler has picked up two or more wickets in this phase. Shami has shown his traditional disciplined bowling, with 60% of his deliveries in the powerplay being on good length. That has reaped rewards with nine out of his 15 wickets in this phase coming on this length.
Another fascinating factor about Shami is his excellence against right-handed batters, as he has grabbed as many as 19 out of his 24 wickets this season against RHBs. With RCB’s three prime top-order batters being RHBs, Shami would be eager to dismantle them all.
Tactical nous
>> Wriddhiman Saha has batted well against pacers this season and has a good balls-per-boundary ratio against them along with a decent strike rate. However, he has been dismissed by pacers in 10 out of his 13 innings till now and has struggled to keep his wicket safe while accelerating against them.
Saha has been especially troubled by deliveries moving in, as five out of his 10 dismissals against pacers have come on this delivery. All the five moving-in deliveries that dismissed him were pitched on the good length and back of length where Saha has struggled big time.
>> Glenn Maxwell has been great in the middle overs where he has scored over 200 runs at an SR of 175. Only Suryakumar Yadav has a better SR than Maxwell at the phase and only Shivam Dube has hit more sixes in the middle overs than Maxwell in this season. He is one of just four batters to have an SR of 150+ against both pace and spin in this season. How GT plan for Maxwell could decide the narrative.
Pitch & conditions
Captains have decided to bowl first in all six games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru this season, but batting first teams have four games. The average first innings score at this venue is 194 and the average first innings winning score in this venue is 197.
Pacers have taken more wickets in this venue than spinners. Both of them have gone for runs with an economy of over nine. Royal Challengers Bangalore have won 40 out of 83 matches at Chinnaswamy in T20s and GT are yet to play at this venue, but they will be happy knowing the conditions in Chinnaswamy even things out.
Probable XIs
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Michael Bracewell, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Dasun Shanaka, Rahul Tewatia, Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad