RCB’s first outing in the IPL since their record breaking victory over Pune.
It would be fair to say that Royal Challengers Bangalore will be going into today’s 2013 IPL clash with Mumbai Indians brimming with confidence.
After beating Pune Warriors India by 130-runs on Tuesday – the second biggest margin of victory in Twenty20 history – RCB sit top of the table with a huge net run rate.
The star man from that victory was without question Chris Gayle, with the West Indian breaking record after record as he smashed his way to an unbeaten 175 off just 66 balls.
That score was the highest ever in IPL history, beating previous holder Brendon McCullum by 17 runs and Gayle also achieved the fastest ton and half-century in Twenty20 history, as well as hitting the most sixes in a 20-over match with a colossal 17.
The West Indian will certainly be the man Mumbai are watching out for as they look to get their good form from the start of the season back into gear.
Ricky Ponting’s team have lost two of their last three matches and will be wanting a win today to keep up with the leading pack.
Ponting and fellow opener Sachin Tendulkar have failed to impress so far this season, with Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik having to pick up the flack for the experienced pairing by scoring nearly 300 runs each.
As for Bangalore, batting clearly isn’t a problem as Gayle leads the list for the Orange Cap by scoring over 80 runs more than anyone else in the competition so far, whilst his captain Virat Kohli is not far behind in third.
Watch the live stream of Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2013 IPL here.
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