Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have been inconsistent in their batting department in the last couple of matches, first getting dismissed for 68 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and then being unable to score 144 runs against Rajasthan Royals (RR). They take on the high-flying Gujarat Titans, who have seven wins and are atop the points table, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday's first match.
Former skipper Virat Kohli's wretched form will come under scrutiny once again. He has scored a mere 128 runs in nine matches for RCB this season with 48 being his highest score. His promotion to the opening slot in RCB's previous match after consecutive Golden Ducks did not yield results as he lost his wicket for nine runs.
Kohli's form has been a reason for Bangalore's inconsistent show performance this season. RCB are currently in fifth spot with five wins in nine matches. A return to somewhere near his best will massively boost RCB's push for a place in the playoffs.
RCB's batter have not fired as a team on many occasions. In addition to Kohli, Australian Glenn Maxwell has blown hot and cold so far with just 124 runs from six matches and with a half-century. Only captain Faf du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik, and Shahbaz Ahmed have done well so far and they have to once again take the responsibility of scoring the bulk of runs against a balanced bowling attack of the Titans.
On the other hand, the Titans have been the side to watch this time around. They have won both high-scoring and low-scoring matches, turning up match-winners in both departments in almost all their games. GT are the clear favourites to win Saturday's match and if they do that, the side led by Hardik Pandya will virtually book a play-off berth.
In their previous outing against Sunrisers, the Titans were struggling to chase down a stiff target of 196 but Rashid Khan, known more for his leg-spin exploits, alongside proven finisher Rahul Tewatia struck four sixes in the last over to steal the match from their opponents.
The Titans have shown that if their top order fails, their lower order can bail the team out. Captain Pandya is their top scorer with 305 runs from seven matches. He will once again be the top man to get the runs, along with openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha, and South African David Miller.
The bowling department might have some interesting matchups as both sides have some of the best performers this season. Mohammed Shami has been the best bowler for the Titans with 13 wickets and with fast bowler Lockie Ferguson and premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan -- though he went wicketless for 45 runs in the previous match -- in their ranks, the Titans have a lethal bowling attack that can decimate any opposition.
RCB also have firepower in bowling like Harshal Patel, who has taken 12 wickets so far, and the equally successful Sri Lankan Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (13 ) as well as quality pacers like Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood, they can stop the Titans' batters on their tracks.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's squad:
Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.
Gujarat Titans' squad:
Hardik Pandya (c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal.
