by Anton Johan
The Royal Challengers Bangalore may have guaranteed their place in the
playoffs of this season's Indian Premier League, but they will need to prove
that they can succeed as a team, even when star player, Chris Gayle is having an
off day.
The RCB meet Chennai Super Kings in Bangalore on Sunday, May 22nd in a game
where both sides have already qualified for the final four matches.
However, if RCB want to advance any further, they will need to show that
their team's batting is good enough to cope, even when Chris Gayle fails.
A case in point was the last match between RCB and Kings XI Punjab, which
ended in an 111 run defeat for RCB after Gayle failed to make an impression.
Coming into Sunday's game against Chennai Super Kings, RCB captain Virat
Kohli said: "The defeat [against Kings] came at the right time for us and it is
a reality check. It gives us a chance to regroup and reassess our plans before
the playoffs. It is a chance for us to correct some faults in our game and move
forward."
"It is impossible to win every game in cricket and it is good that this
happened before the playoffs," he said.
Chennai Top of the Charts
Following their win against the Kochi Tuskers, the Chennai Super Kings now
find themselves on the top of the table with 18 points from 13 games, ahead of
the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians. They have maintained
their record of remaining unbeaten in their seven home matches that ended on May
18th.
Outright Betting (win only) odds of the Indian Premier League
Mumbai Indians - 7/4
Chennai Super Kings - 2/1
Royal Challengrs Bangalore - 3/1
Kolkata Knight Riders - 7/1
Kings XI Punjab - 16/1
