IPL 10, Match 27, RCB v KKR – Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted XI

Royal Challengers Bangalore ended their streak of three successive losses with a win against Gujarat Lions at Rajkot on Tuesday. They desperately needed a win to turn things around for them in this IPL and now they will look to be more consistent with their performances.

KKR, on the other hand, lost their first game after three consecutive wins. They lost to Gujarat convincingly by 4 wickets at Eden Gardens, which was also their first loss at home this season. They will now host RCB on Sunday. It will be an interesting game as both teams will push for a win and with Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli at the helm; we could witness a highly competitive game.

RCB are struggling this season, just like last year. They were off to a similar start last year before Kohli’s heroics with the bat turned things around for them. A victory in the last game has given them hope but there is a lot of water to be passed under the bridge for RCB to finish the league stages in the top four.

The last win against Gujarat Lions was largely due to a solid batting performance led by Chris Gayle’s 77. He has struck form at a crucial time and will be lethal for his team’s success in the remainder of the tournament. RCB has a selection headache yet again. Gayle replaced the injured AB de Villiers and now the latter might be fit for Sunday’s game. It will be interesting to see what combination RCB will opt for this time. We bring to you the possible Predicted XI for RCB as following:

Openers (Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli)

This is a no brainer really. Gayle and Kohli added 122 runs for the first wicket last game and there is no reason why they wouldn’t open again. They have had a successful partnership at the top of the order for a number of years.

Gayle was rusty coming into the tournament but has shown shades of his old self in his 77 which also helped him get past 10,000 T20 runs. Kohli is also in good touch, scoring 2 half-centuries in 3 games this year. This partnership is critical for RCB and Gambhir might tuck Gayle up with some spin early up.

Middle Order (AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, Vishnu Vinod and Mandeep Singh)

While there is no news on de Villiers’ fitness, he is expected to be fit for tomorrow’s game as mentioned by coach Daniel Vettori on Tuesday. Travis Head, most probably, will have to make way for the Proteas star, despite making a good contribution in the previous game.

Jadhav has been in a serious touch this season. He has produced superb cameos at the back end of the innings consistently for RCB and will again bat at number 4. He has done a decent job behind the stumps as well.

Vishnu Vinod is expected to get a game again and will have a crucial role to play at the back end of the innings. Mandeep Singh, an otherwise top order batsman, has been used as a floater this season by RCB. He is more like a fail-safe selection and can resurrect an innings in case of a batting collapse. He also has a wide range of shots so can easily contribute towards the end of the innings as well.

All-rounder (Stuart Binny)

Stuart Binny has been in a good hitting form this year. His style of play makes him an ideal number 6 or 7. Binny is more of a bits and pieces cricketer who is capable of doing well with both bat and ball. Kohli uses him judicially and doesn’t bowl him more than 2 overs in a game. He has 2 wickets in 3 overs he has bowled so far this season.

Bowlers (Yuzvendra Chahal, Tymal Mills, Samuel Badree and Sreenath Aravind)

Chahal bowled beautifully to hold back the Gujarat Lions batting line-up. The leg-spinner has been such a revelation over the years and can pick wickets in the powerplay as well as in the death.

Tymal Mills is expected to start in this game as he should have recovered from the injury he picked up last week. Mills threatens the batsmen with pace and is equally sensational with his back-of-the-hand slower ball. The Englishman is yet to deliver on par with expectations but has been steady in whatever opportunities he has got in this season. Aravind was thwarted around by an 18-year old Ishan Kishan in the last game but has done enough this season to warrant a selection.