Embattled RCB seek revival against KKR

When Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals lock horns in Bengaluru on Sunday, they both will be keen to bounce back from their respective losses in the previous game.

RCB, in particular, will be kicking themselves after losing their last match from a winning position.

After posting a mammoth 205, Chennai at one point were struggling at 74/4. But, poor death bowling, clubbed with Chennai's big-hitting, MS Dhoni's men reached the target in some style. KKR, on the other hand, were well and truly beaten by Delhi Daredevils in their last match. First, Dinesh Karthik's men conceded 219 and then lost too many early wickets as they lost the match by a massive 55 runs.

When RCB and KKR clashed last time, Kolkata successfully chased down a target of 177, thanks to Sunil Narine's blitzkrieg, including his 19-ball fifty.

Since, then KRR have won two more games and lost four in total as they currently occupy the fourth place. Whereas, RCB won only two games all season and are lying in sixth position.

For RCB, AB de Villiers' form will be their biggest positive. In their last match, he smashed 68 off 30 balls against CSK, and before that he scored an unbeaten 39-ball 90 against Delhi.

Virat Kohli has already shown glimpses of his ability with a decent 57 and an unbeaten 92. But, he would be eager to produce them in consistent basis.

South African opener Quinton De Kock has managed to score 165 runs so far. He would like to build on his fifty from the last match. Corey Anderson and Mandeep Singh complete a formidable batting unit for the Sunday's hosts.

With Chris Woakes, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Tim Southee, Bengaluru outfit have a good bowling unit. The only problem is that they have failed to click in unison.

On the other hand, KKR's batsmen will look for a solid outing after the Kotla debacle, when their main guns struggled for runs.

The likes of Robin Uthappa (164), Chris Lynn (191), Nitish Rana (173) and Dinesh Karthik (212) will fancy their chances in a batting friendly Chinnaswamy Stadium. Andre Russell in particular has been on fire this season and will be keen to keep that momentum going.

The spin trio of Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla has been KKR's biggest strength. But, after Shreyas Iyer and young Prithvi Shaw ripped them apart in their last match, they will be eyeing a good outing against RCB's strong batting unit. The Chinnaswamy strip is likely to test KKR's spinners so it will be interesting to see how they fare in it.

Young Shivam Mavi, who had a forgettable outing against Delhi, England's Tom Curran and Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson, will also look for revival against RCB.