As the teams move towards their last few matches in the Indian Premier League, Friday will see Royal Challengers Bangalore clash with Pune Warriors in the match to be played in Bangalore. The two teams have had contrasting campaigns so far and recent results also suggest much difference.
After six straight defeats, Pune Warriors seem to be fast running out of reckoning for the playoffs. They have won only four of their 13 matches and only three wins in the remaining matches will give them any hope of a qualification.
It was a similar story for them in the last match – a defeat to [[Rajasthan Royals] – as their batsmen struggled to score the runs while the bowlers had too little to play with. The team desperately needs inspiration and is not getting any from the out-of-sorts Sourav Ganguly who keeps moving himself in the batting but to no avail.
It remains to be seen whether Ganguly will play this game, especially in the wake of the owners’ announcement that he will be coming back next year only as a mentor to the side.
Marlon Samuels has also flown out to honor his national team commitments that has left the Warriors outfit further weakened while Steve Smith has lost his form a bit.
With two consecutive victories, Royal Challengers Bangalore have moved up the points table to score 13 points with four matches remaining. They are in a better position to make it to the playoffs and if recent form is anything to go by, their opponents need to be worried.
[[Chris Gayle] stormed to 82 off just 59 balls as they chased down the Mumbai Indians’ total with ease. In addition, AB de Villiers has been an excellent finisher for them while Virat Kohli adds another dimension.
The bowlers still need to lift their game though Vinay Kumar’s wicket-taking ability would have pleased the management. Muttiah Muralitharan will also be the key after impressing in his two matches since coming back.
Pune will be the hosts for the match that starts at 8.00pm local time.