The Royal Challengers Bangalore will play the Rajasthan Royals in the 20th game of the Indian Premier League 2011. The match will be hosted by the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore and both teams are coming off losses in the previous game.
Bangalore v Rajasthan odds:
The two teams are on a losing streak. Bangalore (4/6 at
Bodog) has lost three in a row after winning their opening game this season whereas the Rajasthan Royals (11/8 at
Boylesports) have gone down in two of them. What would have surprised their fans is that the teams seemed to have flattered much in the first game or so to deceive in their last few.
Bangalore will need to look into their bowling attack which has lacked an edge. With no real bowling penetration in the absence of Dirk Nannes and a lacklustre Zaheer Khan to boot, they need to look into their squad for more options. Rajasthan lost two of their players for the previous game to injury but that should not be the excuse for being bowled out for 81 to the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Ground and Pitch:
The pitch at Bangalore will have bounce and carry and should make it easier for the batsmen, especially for those from Rajasthan who had struggled at Eden Gardens.
Player News:
Tillakaratne Dilshan (7/2 at
bet365) was named the captain of the Sri Lankan side today and that should improve his mood a tad. His form in the tournament has been anything but exciting and apart from one sluggish half century that he has had, he has not done his job. This follows an equally poor IPL last year. AB de Villiers (7/2 at
Paddy Power) continues to be the sole performer with the bat although Virat Kohli (4/1 at
bet365) seemed to be getting his form back as well.
With Mayank Agarwal (9/2 at
bet365) having shown no signs of getting into the groove, it could just be the right opportunity to get someone like Mohammad Kaif (7/1 at
bet365) into the eleven.
The Rajasthan captain Shane Warne needs to rethink his tactics. There have been far too many changes made to the playing eleven and then again some to the batting order which could affect the morale of the side. Ross Taylor (4/1 at
bet365) needs to bat in the higher middle order, while Shane Watson (11/4 at
Stan James) needs to continue opening the innings.
The decision on the Rahul Dravid (7/2 at
Paddy Power) injury will be taken on the day of the game and if he does play, Amit Paunikar (9/2 at
bet365) could be pushed down the order. Johan Botha (7/1 at
Paddy Power) may also sit out due to his injury.
Prediction:
There is a chance that Shane Warne (7/2 at
Stan James) could end up being the most economical bowler in the game.
