New Delhi, Delhi, India

Virat Kohli-led Bangalore are now one from two after defeating Punjab in their previous encounter.

Advertisment

They chased 155 with three balls to spare and for a change it was very much a collective effort rather than the individual brilliance of one or two of their star names.

Bangalore's batting has always been their main strength. 

With Quinton de Kock, Brendon McCullum, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers comprising the top four, the opposition is bound to be under pressure if one of them hits a purple patch. 

Advertisment

AB's 40-ball 57 included a devastating onslaught in young Mujeeb Ur Rahman's final over that swung the game in Bangalore's favour. 

The team has also performed well as a bowling unit in both the games.

Umesh Yadav and Washington Sundar’s inclusion has boosted their chances of doing well in the tournament. 

Advertisment

The change Bangalore should make is to replace Sarfaraz Khan and bring in Pawan Negi, who could give them more options.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, started the tournament with a mediocre batting performance against Hyderabad. 

While they put up a decent batting display against DD, D’Arcy Short and Ben Stokes are yet to deliver.

Rajasthan can replace Short with Heinrich Klaasen, who has been in exceptional form and is a good player of spin bowling.

Klaasen is the replacement of Steve Smith, who was banned by Cricket Australia for a period of 12 months following the ball-tampering incident. 

So overall, it seems Bangalore has sorted their bowling woes while Rajasthan is still trying to find out their best combination. 

Kohli-led side's top-order has contributed significantly in both games and is most likely to deliver again.

Kohli has to perform if he wants the middle order to continute similar to openers. 

For Rajasthan, contributions from Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Sanju Samson will be vital. 

They were lucky enough to win their last game by DLS method as Kolkata's performance has been remarkable in comparison to theirs. 

So, Bangalore are favourites as they are familiar with the home conditions and have a balanced team. And Rajasthan have been to be on their toes in order to defeat rejuvenated Bangalore.