For the first time in this IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore appear to be under a bit of pressure after the hammering they got from Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai the other day.
On the other hand, Delhi Capitals held their nerves in pressure situations as well as in the Super Over to prevail over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous game and be on par with RCB and table-toppers Chennai Super Kings on eight points.
In fact, the Capitals are ahead of RCB in the standings in terms of net run rate, so when the two teams clash against each other at the Motera Stadium on Tuesday, Rishabh Pant and his teammates would certainly fancy their chances against Virat Kohli and Co. and look to grab two points which then would help them leapfrog the Super Kings to the top of the table.
Similarly, if RCB win on Tuesday, they too will be regaining the top spot. A lot, though, depends on how quickly they put the 69-run thrashing against the Super Kings behind and focus on beginning afresh.
Precisely, there’s no need for Kohli and his men to panic since they practically lost to Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliance in their previous game. But having said that, it remains to be seen if the pounding Harshal Patel took from Jadea in that match-turning final over of the CSK innings continues to have any effect on the bowler.
Selecting the fourth foreigner, however, could be an issue for RCB. Dan Christian hasn’t been too successful while Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson will no longer be available. Not that Zampa and Richardson were automatic choices in the XI, but they could well have been options for the team going forward.
