The Kings XI Punjab have another chance to try and make a comeback into the tournament when they take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Mohali.

Punjab (6/4 at Sky Bet to win the game) has been hounded by controversies in the recent times, and the consistency at losing games hasn’t obviously helped their cause. Bangalore (8/13 at Totesport), on the other hand, had won four in a row, before they lost two successive games and will now look to get back to their winning ways and leapfrog to the second position.

With the controversies refusing to abate, the one breath of fresh air comes in the form of Shaun Marsh (11/4 at Boylesports to top-score for his side again) who looked to have begun from where he had left from in the first season. Now, only if one of the two, Kumar Sangakkara (7/2 at Blue Square) and Yuvraj Singh (9/2 at Sky Bet to top-score for his side) could get off that rut and score the runs, things could look much different for the side. With Manvinder Bisla (6/1 at Blue Square for being the best batsman for Punjab in the game) having been the pick of the batsmen so far, and continuing to get his runs at a fair clip, all may not be lost for the side.

A lot also depends on their bowling, but one can expect the inclusion of Brett Lee (4/1 at Stan James to be the most economical bowler) to bolster the attack.

On the other hand, Bangalore seem to possess, easily, one the top two batting line-ups in the tournament. With the three Indians in Robin Uthappa (11/2 at Coral), Virat Kohli (7/1 at Bet Fred) and Manish Pandey (5/1 at Coral, all to topscore for Bangalore) having had their say in the games so far, it only needs a Rahul Dravid (8/1 at Boylesports to be the best batsman for his side) to get to his fluent self for the batting to look even more attractive.

Ross Taylor’s (9/2 at Blue Square) entry into the side makes for even more interesting thinking for the Bangalore management, but one gets the sense that they will continue to go ahead with Cameron White (8/1 at Boylesports) and Kevin Pietersen (9/2 at Sky Bet, both to top-score for their side) for this game.

Tips:
Favourites: Royal Challengers Bangalore (8/13 at Totesport)
Top Bangalore batsman: Kevin Pietersen (9/2 at Sky Bet)
Top Punjab batsman: Kumar Sangakkara (7/2 at Blue Square)