Bangalore: Hammered in their previous match, the struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore will face another tough battle when they take on the resolute Rajasthan Royals in an IPL game.
Bangalore were crushed by Kings XI Punjab yesterday and it will take some effort to recover from the thrashing handed out by David Miller.
Rajasthan, on the other hand, were overwhelmed by Sunrisers Hyderabad on the back of an inspiring bowling performance in their last match.
Led by feisty Virat Kohli, Bangalore are struggling to keep their chances alive in the contest, having already suffered five defeats in eight games to be placed sixth, while Rajasthan are placed third in the points table with five wins and three reverses in the eight-team tournament.
Having failed to exploit the home advantage to get back the momentum, Bangalore's famed batting lineup will hope to click against the dogged Rajasthan.
RCB started off well, winning their first two games, and that too, without Chris Gayle, but things went awry after that as they suffered three reverses in the UAE.
Having come back after missing Bangalore's first four games due to a hamstring injury, Gayle has been explosive in short stints and is looking for that big one.
Skipper Kohli has appeared off-colour in the last few games and the 25-year-old would also be eager to get a big score.
Yuvraj Singh, who was bought for a whopping Rs 14 crore by team owner Vijay Mallya, has not been able to live upto the
billing.
AB de Villiers, who blazed away with another heroic effort smashing 53 off 26 balls in a losing battle against Punjab, would look to continue this devastating form in the remaining six matches.
RCB's bowling attack looks balanced with pacer Varun Aaron (12 wickets), Mitchell Starc (11) and leg-spinner Yuzwendra Chahal (10) up their ranks.
