Royal Challengers look to continue away success
Match facts
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
Big picture
Royal Challengers Bangalore broke a run of three successive defeats with what Mitchell Starc called their "most complete performance" of the season against Rajasthan Royals a day ago. Shane Watson's side was restricted to 130 for 9, and Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers chased that down one ball into the 17th over for the loss of Chris Gayle.
They came up short in three batting hit-outs in Bangalore but their bowlers adapted well to a slow pitch in Ahmedabad. Royal Challengers now head further north to meet Delhi Daredevils before they return to base in Bangalore. They will be hoping their batting and bowling can click collectively again, something Starc said had been a problem area for them this season.
Daredevils have had their share of breaking losing streaks this year. First, it was their record-equalling 11-defeat embarrassment that ended. A comprehensive win over Mumbai Indians in their previous match then ended a run of nine straight losses at Feroz Shah Kotla. They have had an even run till now with three wins and losses, but even in defeat, they have been quite competitive, unlike in seasons gone past.
Form guide
Delhi Daredevils WLWWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Royal Challengers Bangalore WLLLW
Watch out for…
Mumbai Indians were 131 for 5 when Imran Tahir began the 17th over. Four balls into the over, they were 135 for 8. Thirteen wickets from six games and a reasonable economy-rate of 7.7 show how difficult Tahir has been to target in this IPL. It will be interesting to see how the Royal Challengers power-hitters fare against the legspinner.
Before the start of the season, Kohli had said that he, Gayle and de Villiers would be able to bat freely because Royal Challengers had added depth to their batting with recent acquisitions. However, after five matches, it is the same three who have done the bulk of the scoring. The other batsmen, such as Dinesh Karthik, Manvinder Bisla, Rilee Rossouw and Mandeep Singh, have not fired. The Royal Challengers support batting cast needs to stand up.
Stats and trivia
- Royal Challengers have the fewest fifty-plus individual scores this season - 3
- Shreyas Iyer has hit the most sixes this season - 14
- Feroz Shah Kotla has hosted the most T20 games in India - 76
Quotes
"We always knew that if we get over that two-win mark, we will get a lot of confidence. But we don't want to rest there. We have a long way to go in this tournament."
JP Duminy
Abhishek Purohit is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo