Royal Challengers Bangalore will face Kolkata Knight Riders in game 30 of the Indian Premier League at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Monday. Both RCB and Kolkata have hit a little bit of a rough patch in recent times although it must be said that Kolkata are much better placed in comparison to Bangalore. While RCB are just ahead of last-placed Kings XI Punjab in the points table, Kolkata have slid down to number three following their recent reverses. Even as Bangalore were undone by an inspired Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous encounter, Kolkata were shocked by an improving Delhi Daredevils.
Looking at the combination of the two teams, Kolkata hold a slight edge since they have much better all-round talent as compared to Bangalore, who are heavily dependent on their batsmen. In the batting department the onus will again be on their in-form openers Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa. Both have constantly given the team good starts, and will continue to look to do the same. A few others will have to raise their games though. Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan need to be a bit more aggressive with the bat while Suryakumar Yadav, while batting well, must look to score at a quicker pace.
Kolkata's bowling suffered in the last match, so they would be keen to look to make amends. The Jaydev Unadkat move definitely hasn't worked, and they must look at ways to try and play Morne Morkel in as many games as possible. Also, while Umesh Yadav has bowled reasonably well, he doesn't seem to enjoy the full faith of his captain, and hence doses' always end up bowling his quota of four overs. As always, Sunil Narine has been the key factor for Kolkata, but opponents who have done well against him have played him smartly, not looking to take too many risks against him, and attacking the others. This is where the likes of Russell and Shakib haven't been able to stem the flow of runs.
If you're opponent is Bangalore, the task for the team on paper is rather straightforward. Whether you are batting first or bowling first, just go on an all-out attack against the Bangalore's bowlers, and you are all but assured of a victory. The last two games have been proof of the same. Against Gujarat Lions, a smashing Virat Kohli hundred wasn't enough to win them the match. Then, in the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, David Warner creamed the bowlers so brutally that there was no way back for Bangalore despite their best efforts with the bat. The fact that Kohli had a rare failure did not help matters. 
So far, Bangalore have been heavily dependent on the likes of Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson for victory. But, they have not found a single match-winner with the ball, despite some chopping and changing. Kane Richardson have been given a few games, but has been extremely expensive. Then, there has been Varun Aaron, who has also failed to make much of an impression. When the tournament kicked off, they were banking on Yuzvendra Chahal to help them succeed in the spin department. But, he has been so poor that he has had to be dropped. Bangalore will consider bringing in Chris Gayle for the next game. Will his magic work?
--By A Cricket Analyst
