Kings XI look for RCB scalp

Punjab hope to pile more misery on wounded Challengers

The first team to miss out in the race for the play-offs in this edition of the IPL, a wounded Royal Challengers Bangalore will be looking to not only salvage some pride but play party-poopers as they embark on the final part of a forgettable journey.

Starting with the game against Kings XI Punjab here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, the Royal Challengers, languishing at the bottom of the points table with just two wins (5 points), will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (May 7) and Delhi Daredevils (May 14). While KKR are seemingly just one win away from making the knock-outs, Kings XI (8 points, 9 games) are stuck in mid-table where the battle is too close to call.

Kings XI, one of the major underachievers of the IPL and who claimed the dreaded wooden spoon last season, are very much in the race for the big prize this year but thanks to a fluctuating campaign so far, they know they have to be at their best from here on. Any more slips-ups could seriously jeopardise their chances and the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Martin Guptill, David Miller, Hashim Amla and Wriddhiman Saha will have to come out firing on all cylinders.

Kings XI started their journey well, notching up two polished wins but then slipped badly following four straight defeats with three of them coming on the road. They resurrected themselves with a good victory over Gujarat Lions but were hammered by Sunrisers Hyderabad immediately. They, however, quickly put that disappointment behind and took out the frustration on Delhi Daredevils, knocking them out for 67 before racing to a 10-wicket victory in just the eighth over.

While the batting has been pretty good for Kings XI with Hashim Amla scoring a century and skipper Maxwell, Manan Vohra and Guptill pitching in with useful contributions, their worry has been the bowling. While pacer Sandeep Sharma has bagged 11 wickets, he’s been expensive with an economy rate of 8.73. Axar Patel has somewhat held his end but pacers Mohit Sharma, Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma have been poor. With the smarting RCB batting line-up desperate to sign off on a high, they have be on the mark.
 
Top three need to fire
RCB, for whom little has gone right, will look to hurt Kings XI. Chris Gayle, skipper Virat Kohli and A B de Villiers, set to join the South African team soon, know their performances haven’t matched their lofty standards and will be keen to unleash the pent-up fury.

“I still think RCB are a dangerous side,” opined Guptill on the eve of the game. “If you look through their line-up all the way down, they've got match winners everywhere. So we have to play extremely well tomorrow (Friday) night and put our plans in place. It’s still going to be a tough game. We have to be on top of our game to take them down.”