Playing this IPL's last league stage match, Royal Challengers Bangalore would know what exactly is required of them to qualify for the playoffs, when they face table-toppers Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru on Sunday. With batting maestro Virat Kohli back at his absolute best and skipper Faf du Plessis leading from the front with 600-plus runs this season, RCB will hope their dazzling opening duo fires in this must-win game for them. Besides playing in front of their beloved home crowd that will back them vociferously come Sunday, the other advantage for du Plessis' side is that they feature in the last game of the league round on Sunday evening, by which time RCB would know the outcome of the duel between MI and SRH in Mumbai.
Entering this game, both teams are coming off big wins, GT over Sunrisers Hyderabad by 34 runs and RCB by eight wickets over the 2016 champions by eight wickets after a sparkling hundred by Kohli, his sixth overall across IPL.
RCB would certainly take confidence from the manner in which they chased down a target of 186 in their previous outing against SRH, with both Kohli and du Plessis firing.
The match against GT, however, is going to be a different ball game altogether considering the kind of resources RCB's opponents possess and the confidence they carry into their matches.
It will be interesting to see how the trio of Kohli, du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell go about their tasks against GT. However, RCB's overreliance on the players has been a major cause of concern and if the GT bowlers can make early inroads, the visitors will hold the aces.
Mohammed Siraj has been the RCB standout bowler this season, and in the company of Wayne Parnell, he would again have to shoulder the responsibility of leading their bowling attack.
Like Kohli, Gill, who is being seen as a successor to the run-machine from Delhi, is also coming off a century, and will look to set the tone against RCB.
Seasoned campaigners such as Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan and Mohit Sharma make for a very competitive bowling attack for GT, but they will have their task cut out against a team that comprises one of the modern-day greats of the game.
As far as weather is concerned, there are chances of rain, which will not gladden RCB and their fans.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted XII (including impact player): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Mahipal Lomror, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Dinesh Karthik
Gujarat Titans Predicted XII (including impact player): Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma. Yash Dayal
(With PTI Inputs)