BENGALURU: The race for IPL playoff spots will spill over to the final day of the league phase on Sunday with Royal Challengers Bangalore aiming for a berth when they take on table-toppers Gujarat Titans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here in the evening.
IPL 2023 SCHEDULE | IPL 2023 POINTS TABLE
RCB are currently tied on 14 points with Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals but enjoy a slightly better net run rate (NRR).
A win against the defending champions will catapult them among the top four provided Mumbai do not beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by a big margin and climb above RCB on the points table. With RCB’s game being played after Mumbai’s match on Sunday, the home team will know what is exactly required of them.
The hosts come into this match with their tails up. In their last two must-win matches, they registered big victories against Rajasthan Royals (112 runs) and Hyderabad (eight wickets), which helped them improve their NRR. As for the Titans, they have won three of their last four matches. With the Chinnaswamy known for its short boundaries and batter friendly surface, a high-scoring contest is on the cards.
In fact, RCB have in-form batters, including skipper Faf du Plessis (702 runs) and Virat Kohli (538) while Glenn Maxwell has scored 389 runs. An interesting battle looms against the in-form Titans’ bowlers, including pacer Mohammed Shami and leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who have both scalped 23 wickets each.
But the contribution barring the big three RCB batters has been below par, which has been a cause of concern. Interestingly, RCB scored 200-plus twice at the M Chinnaswamy, but it was for a losing cause, showcasing the venue as a bowlers’ nightmare.
RCB bowlers will have to be on top of their game as well to provide the much-needed result. Mohammed Siraj has been the star bowler, scalping 17 wickets, while Harshal Patel has 13 against his name. Wayne Parnell has to be on the money as well.
It is not going to be easy against a strong Titans’ batting order, led by opener Shubman Gill, who has 576 runs against his name.
They are, however, not dependent on just one individual with players like Hardik Pandya (289 runs), David Miller (249), Vijay Shankar (234) and Wriddhiman Saha (279) in their ranks.
Hazlewood to fly back home
The Achilles injury has laid Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood low since January. It kept the speedster out of the four-match Test series against India in February and March. The same injury forced the RCB foreign import to miss the first half of the ongoing IPL season as well. And, the player, who played just three matches for the franchise after recovery, is set to return home after the recurrence of the injury.
Watch IPL: Eyeing playoffs berth, RCB face table-toppers GT
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