After being beaten in their previous encounter Rajasthan Royals will look to avenge the 9-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Humiliated in their previous face-off this season, table toppers Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to seek revenge against resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in their IPL 8 fixture at Bangalore on Wednesday.
In the earlier meeting between the two teams last week, RCB mauled Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets with 23 balls to spare after restricting the Shane Watson-led side to a paltry 130. And come Wednesday, the crushing defeat would be high on the minds of RR.
Rajasthan Royals are presently sitting atop the table with 11 points from eight games with five wins, two loses and one no result. RCB, on the other hand, are lying fourth with six points from as many games. After registering five consecutive wins, Rajasthan Royals suffered two back-to-back defeats and would be keen to return to winning ways.
For RR, Ajinkya Rahane, the leading run-getter this season, and Australian Steve Smith have been in fine form with the bat and the team would look on the duo to post a big total. To add to it, skipper Watson's all-round finesse and Deepak Hooda's blazing strike-rate (208.92) make Rajasthan Royals look menacing.
On the bowling front, 43-year-old leg-spinner Pravin Tambe has impressed all and sundry and has picked up six scalps so far this season. With the presence of Chris Morris and James Faulkner, Rajasthan Royals' pace department also look in safe hands. For RCB, it has been a mixed bag tournament so far, recording three wins and as many loses.
IPL 8: Delhi Daredevils v/s Royal Challengers Bangalore - RCB canter home by 10 wickets
But after a sedate start, RCB returned to winning ways with two consecutive away wins against Rajasthan in Ahmedabad and Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla. However a dismal record at home could a major concern for RCB going into the game. RCB has so far failed to take the home advantage. They lost all three matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at home.
RCB would be high on confidence after registering a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in their last match. Against Delhi the other day, all departments of the game clicked in unison for RCB and skipper Virat Kohli would be hoping for a consistent performance.
With the likes of destructive Chris Gayle, Kohli, AB de Villiers up their ranks, RCB's boasts of a formidable batting line-up. Gayle and Kohli have had a slow start to this year's campaign but have gained momentum with time. Kohli in fact returned to form with two half centuries in the last three games.RCB's bowling attack, seen a weak link, also came good against Delhi the other day.
Led by Australian Mitchell Starc and supported well by Varun Aaron and David Wiese, RCB's pacers produced a lethal display to bundle out Delhi for meagre 95 runs in their last match and set the platform for the easy win.
On the spin front, RCB's leading wicket-taker this season with 10 scalps, Yuzvendra Chahal, will be a hard nut to crack.
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