What

Rising Pune Supergiant will look to return to winning ways when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in Match 34 of VIVO IPL 2017. Both teams come into this match at the back of losses; while RPS lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday night, RCB lost to the Gujarat Lions on Thursday night.

RPS have four wins and as many defeats, and are part of the mid-table muddle, while RCB are closer to the floor of the table with just two wins from their nine matches (along with one extra point from their washed-out match against SRH). RCB are now faced with a situation where they cannot afford to lose one more match; if they end up on the wrong side once more, it will end any mathematical chances that exist of them staying in contention for a playoff spot.

The two teams have contrasting problems to address; if the bowling attack has been RPS’ Achilles heel, the batsmen have let RCB down in a big way. Despite all the might in their batting line-up, RCB have the poorest scoring rate of all teams, and their batsmen have passed the half-century mark on only five occasions in eight matches. RPS meanwhile have had good days and bad days on the field; when the bowlers have found their mojo, they have not only picked up wickets but kept the runs down as well. However, there are days – like the previous match, when the bowlers have struggled for control and failed to pick wickets. Another area that RPS would need to tighten up is their catching; in their eight matches so far, they have been guilty of grassing at least 12 catches.

When

29 April 2017, 1600 Hrs IST

Where

MCA Stadium, Pune

The Protagonists

This match will feature the top-ranked batsmen in the three different formats of international cricket, and therefore the spotlight will be on the trio; RPS’ Steven Smith is the top-ranked batsman in Test cricket, while RCB’s AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli top the lists in ODIs & T20Is respectively.

RPS will want Rahul Tripathi to continue scoring runs at the top. The 26-year old has combined well with Ajinkya Rahane at the top, and the pair have been involved in partnerships of 76 & 65 in the last two matches.

While Imran Tahir presents RPS with a wicket-taking option, the one bowler who gives Steven Smith control is Ben Stokes; the English all-rounder, who will be a welcome addition to the team, will undergo a fitness test on the morning of the match to discover if his injury has healed sufficiently to allow him to take part in the match.

Match within the match

The contest between the three leg-spinners promises to be exciting. Imran Tahir, Samuel Badree and Yuzvendra Chahal have contributed to leg-spinners doing well in the VIVO IPL 2017. Which of the three bowlers will cause the most damage?

Head to Head

Overall: Matches played – 3, RPS Won – 1, RCB Won – 2

Earlier this season, RPS defeated RCB by 27 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After posting 161-8 riding on the back of useful contributions from their top four batsmen, RPS then restricted the hosts to 134-9 – with Ben Stokes (3-18), Shardul Thakur (3-35) and Jaydev Unadkat (2-25) causing plenty of damage with the ball.

Trivia

Royal Challengers Bangalore have now been bowled out on 3 occasions in VIVO IPL 2017; the last time they were bowled out thrice in an IPL season was in the inaugural season in 2008.

The Rising Pune Supergiant opener Rahul Tripathi is the only batsman to make 5 consecutive scores of 30 or more in VIVO IPL 2017.

RCB have realised a total of 27 wickets from their spinners this season – more than any other team has realised from their spin bowlers.

What Next

For Rising Pune Supergiant: Return fixture (at home) Vs Gujarat Lions, May 1 (8pm)

For Royal Challengers Bangalore: Return fixture (Away) Vs. Mumbai Indians, May 1 (4pm)