It would be a battle of unequals when tournament laggards Kings XI Punjab take on the formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore in a desperate bid to stay afloat in the IPL on Monday. With IPL-6 approaches the playoff stage, Punjab have managed to win just four out of 10 games so far and they will look to win all of their remaining games.
A loss Monday will virtually bring the curtains down on Punjab’s campaign this season. Against the star-studded RCB, which boasts of the big-hitting Chris Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli, Punjab are once again likely to be without regular skipper Adam Gilchrist. On paper, Bangalore appear to be overwhelming favourites with seven wins in 11 games. On April 23, Bangalore had posted the highest team score of 263 and Gayle massacred the Pune Warriors bowling for a record 66-ball 175. Punjab would hope that the Jamaican does not click against their bowlers.
But in the days after defeating Pune by 130 runs, Bangalore lost two games in a row and the visitors got back to the winning ways, inflicting yet another defeat on Pune a couple of days back. RCB have won all their matches at home and also shrugged off the tag of not being able to win the away games by securing a 17-run victory at Pune against Pune Warriors in the last encounter.
A loss Monday will virtually bring the curtains down on Punjab’s campaign this season. Against the star-studded RCB, which boasts of the big-hitting Chris Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli, Punjab are once again likely to be without regular skipper Adam Gilchrist. On paper, Bangalore appear to be overwhelming favourites with seven wins in 11 games. On April 23, Bangalore had posted the highest team score of 263 and Gayle massacred the Pune Warriors bowling for a record 66-ball 175. Punjab would hope that the Jamaican does not click against their bowlers.
But in the days after defeating Pune by 130 runs, Bangalore lost two games in a row and the visitors got back to the winning ways, inflicting yet another defeat on Pune a couple of days back. RCB have won all their matches at home and also shrugged off the tag of not being able to win the away games by securing a 17-run victory at Pune against Pune Warriors in the last encounter.