Two teams which are very close to making it to the playoffs will take on each other in a very crucial encounter of the ongoing Indian Premier League. Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are at number five with 15 points, will host Mumbai Indians, who are at number three with 16 points.
Both the teams will know that the winner of this match will be only one step away from the elite playoffs and a bad game can change the fate of both teams. With Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI winning their respective matches, no team will leave anything for chance.
Let’s have a look at some of the players who can make a difference for their respective sides.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Chris Gayle: Gayle is once again having a great time in IPL. He is the current holder of the orange cap and it is his batting that has made lots of difference for Bangalore’s fortune. He has already demolished some of the bowlers who came his way. Gayle is in menacing form and Mumbai will be aware of the danger this man possesses.
AB de Villiers: He has been the best finisher in the tournament so far. Most of the times he has came in to bat when his team was in desperate needs and he has delivered the goods more often than not. AB is a dynamic batsman and he has reached unthinkable heights in this competition.
Muttiah Muralitharan: He has not played all the games for RCB, but in the games he has played he has performed brilliantly. Murali is one of the most economical bowlers in the competition and he has also picked some very important wickets. Murali is very important for RCB’s plan and Mumbai will know that.
Zaheer Khan: Zaheer has raised the standards as the tournament has progressed and is very dangerous with the new ball. He bowled two beautiful deliveries upfront against Pune to get Mumbai important wickets. Zaheer is the most experienced fast bowler for RCB and he has handled the responsibility quite well.
Mumbai Indians:
Sachin Tendulkar: One of the greatest batsmen in world cricket is not having a great time in IPL-5. He has played a couple of good innings, but overall he will be disappointed by his performance. Sachin can turn up the heat whenever his team needs it and they do need a massive performance from this master batsman.
Rohit Sharma: In the last game against Pune, Rohit hit his maiden IPL hundred. He played some tremendous shots in his innings and looked in awesome form. Sharma raises his game at crucial stages and can win a match single-handedly.
Munaf Patel: He was out of the team and made a solid comeback in the match against Pune Warriors. Patel has had an inconsistent series and he will be looking to rectify that with the tournament entering its business end. Patel is quite dangerous with the new ball and can produce Yorkers in the death overs.
Harbhajan Singh: He has been bowling well and has restricted the oppositions’ rate of scoring at a number of times. Harbhajan likes a challenge and a challenge is what he will get if he will bowl to Chris Gayle.
By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News
