Bangalore will be keen to maintain their five-out-of-five unbeaten home record this season as they take on Pune Warriors today
Hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore will be looking to consolidate their position at the top of the league table and also maintain their unbeaten run at home when they face a struggling Pune Warriors India here today.
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Bangalore, led by the aggressive Virat Kohli, have looked unbeatable at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, a couple of close games notwithstanding. In fact, their only two defeats so far in seven outings have been in away matches.
With 10 points from seven outings, Bangalore have an excellent opportunity to pick up two more that should establish them as among the favourites to qualify for the next stage.
In contrast, Pune have won just two of their seven games and their poor run has been a great injustice to the wealth of talent they boast. They have had three captains this season, the latest being Aaron Finch.
The Warriors would be looking up to him to lead from the front, like he did with a half-century at Mohali on Sunday night when the Pune team looked to be at its strongest after another round of shuffling that saw Luke Wright getting his first game and making it count with a cameo. Also, with Yuvraj Singh returning to the team after recovering from injury, Pune have the arsenal to score, but their bowlers are yet to make their presence felt as was evident at Mohali when Pune could not defend a total of 185.
Kohli’s wishlist
>> His great form continues
>> Chris Gayle scores a century
>> Vinay Kumar continues his wicket-taking form
>> Aaron Finch goes early
>> Pune Warriors’ poor run persists
Mathews’ wishlist
>> Finch and Uthappa provide a solid platform
>> Wright and Smith ensure a flourishing finish
>> Yuvraj anchors the innings
>> Dinda does not leak runs
>> Gayle flops
When they last met... Gayle, Dilshan powered RCB to victory
A blistering opening stand of 83 in just 51 balls between Chris Gayle (57) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (53) set up an easy win for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors on May 11 last year.
After posting a solid total of 173, the Bangalore bowlers backed up the good work done by the batters and put up an impressive show restricting Pune to a mere 138. Robin Uthappa (38) showed some resistance but pursuing a large total, Warriors’ chase was jolted by early hiccups and the home team could not rebuild. Vinay Kumar was the pick of the bowlers bagging three wickets.u00a0
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