Chennai look to remain afloat, Kolkata eye win against Punjab

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will look to consolidate their position in the standings with a win over a beleaguered Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the second match of Saturday’s double-header.

Bangalore are at the fifth spot with six points with three victories from five games so far. After losing their last match against Delhi Capitals, Bangalore will look to capitalise on the slumping form of Chennai to bounce back.

All the top batsmen of Bangalore are on the top with Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers, Aaron Finch and Virat Kohli  among the runs.

However, in the last match against Delhi, it was a very lacklustre batting performance by the star-studded line-up as they could manage to reach only 137 in their chase of 197. The bad news for Chennai is that all are due for a big score. Kohli, who was struggling in the first three matches, has also found his mojo with a cracking 73 against Rajasthan Royals.

In the bowling department, South African pacer Dale Steyn may return to the fold. Either Isuru Udana or Navdeep Saini are likely to make way for him. Deepak Chahal and Washington Sundar will once again take care of the spin attack.

On the other hand, chips are down in the Chennai camp. They have just four points from six matches after four losses.

Chennai will look to keep their hopes alive with a much-needed victory. They have lost three matches on the trot. Their latest defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has dented their confidence.

The Lions had dominated the contest for most part, but let it slip after requiring only 39 from 21 deliveries with six wickets in hand. Owing to the loss, sweeping changes can be seen in the playing XI. The axe may fall on Kedar Jhadav and Ravindra Jadeja. In the head-to-head record, Chennai have won 15, Bangalore 8.

The only positive for the Bangalore in their last match was the performance of leg-spinner Karn Sharma.

He bowled impressively in the middle overs and dismissed left-handers Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine for figures of two for 25.

The Lions are the most consistent team in IPL history, having qualified for the Playoffs in all their previous 10 seasons, reached the final eight times and lifted the trophy thrice.

KKR take on KXIP: In the other match of the day, a confident Kolkata (KKR) will look to extend their winning streak against the bottom side Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Punjab are struggling to remain afloat. They are at the bottom with just two points with a lone win in their six outings. They need to win seven of their remaining eight matches to make it to the semi-finals. Other than KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, none of their batsmen have been able to deliver.

Rahul is the leading scorer in the tournament with a century and three fifties while Agarwal is on the third spot with a hundred and one fifty, amassing 299 in six innings.

Nicholas Pooran played an explosive innings against Hyderabad, scoring 77 off 37 but he did not find support from any other batsman. The next best score of Punjab was 11 as they lost the match by 69 runs.

They seem to have paid the price for omitting West Indian swashbuckling opener Chris Gayle. He has not been included in the team for a single match despite the fact they are on a losing spree.

Gayle’s omission has already hurt Punjab and an irreparable damage seems to have been done. Now his inclusion will add extra pressure on him as Punjab can’t afford to lose any more.