IPL 2017 - Virat is Back For RCB vs MI In A Crucial Tie For The Hosts

#IPL #IPL 2017

#IndianPremierLeague

Two losses out of three matches have set the alarm bells ringing in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (#RCB) ranks, and they would be mighty pleased to see their #Captain #ViratKohli back in action after the his #Shoulder #Injury sustained during the #IndvAus #TestMatch #Series. 

A #HomeGame vs Mumbai Indians (#MI) would be an ideal platform for the captain to get a feel of things and try to get RCB back on track. #Mumbai on the other hand are upbeat after two consecutive home #Wins, including an easy one over Sunrisers Hyderabad (#SRH).

The Delhi #Superstar has been declared #FitToPlay on Thursday by the #BCCI #MedicalTeam.

#Kohli, who had dropped hints of making a return after posting a video on his #Instagram account of his gym session on April 11, did some #Fielding drills during the team's #NetSession on Wednesday.

Last year, Kohli had scored a staggering 973 runs in 16 matches with four centuries to guide #RCB to the finals against Sunrisers Hyderabad (#SRH) and he would look to improve #Bangalore's current sixth place #Standing on the points-table.

In Kohli's absence, #ABD de Villiers made his presence felt as he smashed his way to an unbeaten 89 off just 46 balls to help RCB post a respectable 148-4 on his comeback match after recovering from an injury.

The poor form of Chris #Gayle is also a concern for RCB. The West Indian power-hitter has been struggling to carve out big scores, which is reflected in his failure to score even one half century in his last 10 innings.

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Did Mitchell Starc do a Twitter goof-up by messaging the wrong Virat Kohli? - Yahoo Cricket (blog)

#IPL #IPL 2017 #IPL 10

#IndianPremierLeague

Things are definitely not going well for #Australian #Pacer #MitchellStarc. After getting sidelined from the #India-Australia #TestSeries midway due to stress #Fracture on his right knee, he has now landed in an embarrassing situation. 

#Starc, with hopes of settling down the air with India and RCB skipper #ViratKohli, sent him a personal message on #Twitter. The message was a lighthearted one with congratulatory words on the Test series win against Australia and also the emphatic home season India had against New Zealand, England and Bangladesh which helped Kohli and his men to climb the No. 1 spot in #ICC #Test #Rankings. Moreover, Starc also wished Kohli to have a #Speedy #Recovery from a shoulder #Injury which the swashbuckling batsman sustained in Bangalore Test keeping him out of the final Test of the series at Dharamsala.

There was nothing wrong with Starc's message. But the only, and perhaps the biggest, problem was that Starc sent it to a parody account of Kohli. Starc, who is dart on target when it comes to bowling absolute yorkers to batsmen on field, went haywire on Twitter by messaging the fan account @imVkohIIi rather than Kohli's official handle @imVkohli.

"Hey friend Hopefully I don't have to look for a new IPL team?? Haha media hey! Didn't get a chance to have a proper catch up mate but Congrats on the series win and on your summer personally… I hope that shoulder is on the mend and not too bad? Good luck for the IPL, here's hoping to an RCB win. Cheers mate," Starc tweeted. Now obviously, the owner of the account could not resist this glaring opportunity and swiftly shared this message to display the great blunder Starc did. Not only did he share the message but being a good bloke replied Starc with humbleness and made the speedster aware of what blunder he had committed.

The owner replied (ignore the glaring English), "Thanx for all these on Virat's behalf. Hoping your injury is well nowe & wishing good luck for all ur upcoming matches. As we all know that u & virat r good frnds on & off the field as many times virat had mention it. As i m fan of @imVkohli & hoping u both to playing together for RCB next year. Lets cheer together for RCB & hope to…"

Starc has played under Kohli's captaincy for RCB in 2014 and 2015, but opted out of IPL 2017 with intentions of being fully fit for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in June. But the India-Australia series turned bitter for Starc as he had to fly back home due to the injury.

The four-game Test series against the mighty Australia did spark a lot of controversies throughout wherein Australian media targeting Kohli topped the list. But regardless of the controversies from the series, this goof-up by Starc certainly has made things lighter.

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IPL 2017: Royal Challengers Bangalore complete squad, key players and list of matches

#IPL #IPL 10 #IPL 2017

#IndianPremierLeague

Arguably the most popular #T20 #Tournament in the world, the #IPL started in 2007 after India's unprecedented success in the 2007 T20 World Cup, when they lifted the trophy in South Africa. 

The IPL started with a bang when #BrendonMcCullum, then playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (#KKR) scored a massive 158 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (#RCB). The #VijayMallya owned team had performed poorly in the first season and came 2nd last on the number's table. The team was criticised for a poor selection of players, which consisted of test specialists like Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jafar and Jaques Kallis. 

The team has come a long way since then and has remained a top contender for the title, despite never having won the tournament in its decade-long history. Led by Indian Captain #ViratKohli, the #RCB displays a mixture of youth and experience but remains heavily dependent on its famous #BattingLineup.

Royal Challengers Bangalore full squad for IPL 2017

Existing players: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Mandeep Singh, Adam Milne, Sarfaraz Khan, S Aravind, Kedar Jadhav, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Samuel Badree, Iqbal Abdulla, Travis Head, Sachin Baby, Avesh Khan, Tabraiz Shamsi

Players Bought: 

• Pawan Negi (1 Cr), 
• Tymal Mills (12 Cr), 
• Aniket Choudhary (INR 2 Cr), 
• Praveen Dubey (10 Lakh), 
• Billy Stanlake (30 Lakh)

Key players:

Virat Kohli 

He might have hit a rough patch in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series but T20 is a different ball game altogether and Kohli;s track record in the format speaks for itself. 

In 154 IPL matches, Kohli has played since 2008, he has amassed 4534 runs at an impressive average of 38.10 and a strike rate of 132. 07. In the last season of the IPL, Virat had hit a golden patch scoring 973 runs in 16 innings with a strike rate of 152.03 and an incredible average of 81.08.

Chris Gayle

The big #Jamaican is easily the most experienced batsman in the team and the most destructive one, on his day. #Gayle has been playing as a mercenary in #T20 tournaments all over the world and is easily a nightmare for any #Bowler at the top of the order. He has 3220 runs in the 82 matches that he has played in the #IPL, with an average of 46 and a strike rate of 156.92 and a top score of 175 against Pune. He also happens to have the fastest T20 #Century to his name.

AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers is #Superman. #ABD Villiers is at a stage of human evolution where he has left the homo sapiens way behind. De Villiers can captain, can bat anywhere, keep wickets, field anywhere, and even bowl at a decent speed. While it is to be seen, if #Kohli and management use him as a finisher or up the order, De Villiers will find ways to score on anyone, anywhere on the field.

Tymal Mills

The Englishman is the newest buy in the team and this is first IPL season. At 24 years of age, Mills has a bright future ahead of him and playing for RCB in the IPL could only propel him to new heights of stardom. Mills is the only pacer in the team who comes with some reputation. Considering the batting line-up, it is very unlikely that he would be short of runs to defend but his skills with the back of the hand slow ball mixed well with his ability to fire #Yorkers at will could be the last piece of the puzzle #RCB need to win the #IPL.

#RCB #Match #Schedule for IPL 2017

Match 1: SRH vs RCB, April 5, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 2: RCB vs Delhi Daredevils, April 8, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 3: Kings XI Punjab vs RCB, April 10, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 4: RCB vs Mumbai Indians, April 14, 2017, 16:00 IST

Match 5: RCB vs Rising Pune Supergiant, April 16, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 6: Gujarat Lions vs RCB, April 18, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 7: KKR vs RCB, April 23, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 8: RCB vs SRH, April 25, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 9: RCB vs Gujarat Lions, April 27, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 10: Rising Pune Supergiant vs RCB, April 29, 2017, 16:00 IST

Match 11: Mumbai Indians vs RCB, May 1, 2017, 16:00 IST

Match 12: RCB vs Kings XI Punjab, May 5, 2017, 20:00 IST

Match 13: RCB vs KKR, May 7, 2017, 16:00 IST

Match 14: Delhi Daredevils vs RCB, May 15, 2017, 20:00 IST

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IPL 2017 Mitchell Starc Moves On From RCB

#IPL2017
#IPL #Season 10 #T20 #Cricket

Royal Challengers Bangalore #RCB, suffered a huge blow ahead of the 2017 Indian Premier League (#IPL) auction as Australia pacer #MitchellStarc will not be a part of this year's tournament.

A tweet from the IPL announced that Mitch and Bangalore had decided to "discontinue their association ahead of 2017 season", confirming reports in certain sections of the international media.

A statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India explained that the player and RCB have mutually decided to discontinue their association ahead of the upcoming season of #VIVO #IPL Indian Premier League 2017 in accordance with Regulations of the IPL Player Regulations.

This will be a huge blow to the franchise and Bangalore will now go into Monday's auction with an additional purse of INR 5 crore along with an additional slot for an overseas player.

The 27-year old fast bowler, who missed the previous edition of the IPL due to injury, joined the Bangalore franchise in 2014 and has taken 34 wickets for his side till date

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IPL2016 Final: And Then There Were Two ... RCB vs SRH

#IPL2016
#IPLFinal
#RCBvsSRH
Bengaluru, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium

After a two months of heavy action and hustle-bustle between 8 teams, the two best performing teams have reached the finals. I wont say they are the best teams of the tournament though.

#RCB had a horrible start and they were precariously placed until the #Virat-AB show saved them the blushes. Their biggest weaklink, their bowling came good at the right moment too and they are now the team to beat on current form.

#SRH on the other hand, started brilliantly. Their bowling, arguably the best bowling side of the tournament, pushed them top of table early in the tourney but reversals down the line meant they had to huff-puff their way to the qualifiers. Its only in the Eliminator and Qualifier2 that they seem to build an intensity to win the title.

So, WHO WILL WIN THE CUP??

Batting
RCB have a clear edge here. Virat, AB, Gayle, Watson, KL Rahul, Baby, Binny are better than their SRH counterparts head to head. Virat beats Dhawan, AB negates Warner, Gayle negates Yuvraj, Watson beats Henriques on experience, Rahul, Baby and Binny seem better off than Dwivedi, Ojha and Hooda. Mind you SRH batting can explode anytime. Yuvi is due and has shown he can take the bowlers to the cleaners. Bipul Sharma's cameos in both previous games tilted victory towards SRH from tricky situations. Look out for him and Dwivedi. Dhawan is over due.

RCB will expect the law of averages has hit Virat just in that Qualifier1 game. If he scores his first 10 runs with confidence today, he will close the game. So will AB or Gayle. Thats why they are a more formidable batting lineup than SRH.

Bowling
The scenario changes by 180 degrees here. SRH has been the bowling side of the tournament and that too without too many spinners! Bhuvaneshwar and Mustafizur have led that attack brilliantly. Henriques, Boult, Sran and Cutting have played their support role very well too.

RCB on the other hand, have some issues with their bowling. Although Watson with all his experience and Jordan with his wily death over bowling skills, can do damage they have shown propensity to go for a lot of runs too. An off day would be mean chasing 20-25 runs extra with added pressure. Chahal has been their trump of the season though.His leggies have baffled teams and in rush of scoring against him, they have perished to his guile. Aaron, Richardson haven't done much to instill confidence of their skipper. Abdulla is a good spinning option alongside Chahal.

Experience of IPL Finals?
#RCB have experienced IPL finals before in 2009 and 2011 but lost both of them while #SRH are straddling unknown territory. Who will feel better? Guess, SRH because they have nothing to lose, they will treat it as a new fresh game but RCB with those two losses in their bag will carry bad memories with them.

Home ground Advantage?
Yes, very much with RCB. They will have the home crowd rooting for them big time and put pressure on visiting SRH. Also, Eliminator and Qualifier1 were played in New Delhi. The conditions, pitch were dramatically different than Chinnaswamy.

X-Factors
For RCB, it would be undoubtedly Chahal's bowling alongside #Virat-AB batting combination.

For SRH, it would be their key bowlers - Bhuvi, Mustafizur (if fit) and #Warner's batting.

Weather?
Rain is forecast for match day and this will make things interesting especially at the toss. Monday is reserve day for the finals though.

Preparations?
RCB qualified for the final on Tuesday (4 days ago) and already camped in Bengaluru since. They will have rested their players well, tackled niggling injuries and adjusted to the conditions better. 
SRH on the other hand had to sweat it out in Eliminator on Wed, Qualifier1 on Friday and then fly down from NewDelhi to Begaluru late last evening (owing to a flight delay). This has given them very less, if at all, time to recuperate and prepare for this game at the venue.

All in all looks like a SRH Bowling vs RCB Batting contest this.
Can't wait for the game to get started.
Let the best team win!!!

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Which Team Has Played The Best Thus Far?

#IPL8

The IPL is hotting up. Some teams have hit the groove well right from the start while some of them are just settling in. Players have hit their straps upfront while others have struggled outright. The IPL has been a roller coaster already..

While #CSK and #RR have been the best winning teams till date (RR is unbeaten while CSK has only been beaten by RR), #MI, #RCB and #KXIP have had a hard time getting off the blocks. 

MI, after losing 4 straight games before pulling one back against RCB, may just have got the impetus to make a dash at the top teams. KXIP and RCB have struggled to close games (RCB "almost" pulled it against MI only to stumble at the end while KXIP were blown away by #KKR's Russell-Yusuf partnership after dominating the game for most part). SRH have been shaky while KKR has been steady through their good batting and bowling, #CSK has always been a strong horse with wonderful balance led by the charismatic #MSDhoni and #RR have topped everyone with their batting heroes - Rahane, Steve Smith, Watson, Hooda, etc)

So, who do you think will take the first four spots in that league table at half way stage (7 games each)? RR and CSK seem to be certainly there but the other two? maybe KKR and SRH? or will RCB, MI or KXIP pull up some surprises?

Its all happening at #IPL2015 ... stay tuned!

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