After losing consecutive games, the dressing room of Pune Supergiants can be considered as the most depressive one among the IPL teams, as they gear up for their fourth game in this year's Indian Premier League against the mighty Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 16, 2017.
Live updates:
The night game starts at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru at 8:00 p.m. IST. Stay tuned for the toss news and live scores.
After marking a convincing win against Mumbai Indians in their opening match, Pune lost three consecutive matches which affected their morale very badly.
The team which is languishing at the bottom of the table needs a win to come back to the tournament, but it won't be that easy against an in-form Bangalore side.
Pune faces intense batting worries
The primary concern for the Pune Supergiants lies in their batting department. Ajinkya Rahane who is responsible for giving a good start for the side has only scored one half-century out of the four matches he played. Apart from Captain Steven Smith, no other batsmen have scored more than 100 runs in the four games.
The team management has already dropped Mayank Agarwal from the side owing to his bad form. Bagging a price tag of 14.5 Crores, Ben Stokes has not risen to the expectations, and he has made it a habit of losing wickets in ordinary deliveries.
Mahendra Dhoni's inability to hit big has also negatively impacted Pune's winning chances.
On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore is a very confident side, as they have some top-rated players like AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, and interestingly both of them are at the peak of their form. If explosive batsman Chris Gayle too finds the rhythm, it will be practically an impossible task to stop the winning run from the Bangalore team.
The fiery opener Chris Gayle needs just three more runs to reach 10000 runs in T20. In the seven matches against IPL teams based in Pune, RCB has won all seven.
Tv telecast and online streaming Information
Sony Six and Set Max are telecasting this match live in India. The live stream can be followed by visiting the official website of Sony Six or Hotstar.
IPL fans in the United States can watch the game on Willow TV.
A match that will definitely bring you at the edge of your seats! Watch out for a collision between @RCBTweets and @RPSupergiants#RCBvRPS pic.twitter.com/87JFMfHNSJ
— Sony SIX (@SonySIX) April 16, 2017
Pitch and surface conditions
The batting friendly Chinnaswamy pitch is expected to emerge as a perfect paradise for batsmen. Experts predict that this game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Supergiants will be a high scoring one.
