Royal Challengers take on Rajasthan Royals in Eliminator with both teams taking confidence of finishing league stage on a high
From being labelled as a team with only Test players in a T20 format in the inaugural edition in 2008, Royal Challengers Bangalore have become a serious contender to win this year's IPL. The brand of cricket that they play, and the kind of top-three they boast of in their batting order, RCB may well entertain thoughts of entering the final in Kolkata on Sunday.
Before that, though, RCB must win against fourth-placed Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Wednesday. While the loser goes home, the winner has another shot at the finale when they take on the Qualifier-1 winners in Ranchi on Friday.
RCB have the edge as their top three, Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers, who is batting in his rightful place at No. 3, have each scored in excess of 400 this season. On the flipside, though, should the top three fail, the rest of the batsmen could feel the pressure in the knock-out game.
That said, they do have the batsmen who have shown their prowess in bits and pieces. The likes of Mandeep Singh and the youngest IPL player, Sarfaraz Khan, can be destructive but whether they do it on the big stage of an Eliminator remains to be seen. The disappointment for RCB this season has been Dinesh Karthik, who in the limited chances that he got, has not used his experience and talent to put up the runs.
Their bowlers are among the leading wicket-takers this season. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Australian Mitchell Starc have taken a majority of the wickets with support from Harshal Patel and the South African David Wiese. RCB have depth in their bowling, but it remains to be seen whether they stick to Ashok Dinda or get back Sreenath Aravind, who bagged four wickets in his first game this season.
However, RCB are up against a side that began in a dream manner. With five wins in their first give games, the Royals lost their way to post only two wins in their remaining 10 games, what with two games being washed out. But they would put everything behind them and take confidence from the fact that they won their last league game convincingly against Kolkata Knight Riders. It was a do-or-die game for them and they did it, courtesy Shane Watson's unbeaten century. Better by experience for being in a similar situation before, Royals know the knack of winning the all-important games.
The contest between the three Australians in Royals line-up -- Shane Watson, captain Steve Smith and James Faulkner -- against their World Cup-winning teammate Starc should excite the spectators.
Having said that, RCB have a slight edge. They have been runners-up twice, the last one being in 2011. It has been four years since they were in a playoff.
Royals, who won in 2008, made it to the playoff only once again, in 2013, where they won the Eliminator but lost in Qualifier-2 to eventual champions.
Neither team can afford to lose. That sets up for an exciting contest.
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