Bangalore and Rajasthan eye crucial win

A win on Wednesday, for either side, will be a huge step towards a spot in the final four. Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are coming off painful losses, during which they failed to grab key opportunities, and both are tied on 12 points after as many games. Whoever loses this encounter will then have to win their final game convicningly, and will still need other results to go their way. So tight is the points table that neither Shane Warne nor Anil Kumble would want to leave the fates of their sides to outside chance.

The stakes are higher for Rajasthan, given that their position is weaker thanks to a net run rate of -0.288 that currently leaves them fifth in the points table. Their fortunes have changed remarkably since their first meeting with Bangalore. The defeat in that game was Rajasthan's third in a row, and their campaign looked in shambles. Since then, they strung together four consecutive wins before dropping two, followed by a win and a loss. Through their topsy-turvy tournament, they have remained in contention thanks in no small part to the leadership of Shane Warne, who has again managed to get a lot out of his inexperienced players. Now it is crunch time and it'll take more than the odd canny bowling change or inspired field placement to take them further.

Rajasthan's main area of concern going into the match will be the state of their batting. In their previous match they failed to put up a fight in a stiff chase against Mumbai, after losing three crucial wickets to run-outs. To avoid another such mishap, they need their batsmen to regain control and Yusuf Pathan, in the midst of a slump, at his aggressive best. Their chances will also depend on the batting of the openers and the all-round abilities of Shane Watson.

Bangalore's campaign has also lost steam after a strong start, and both batsmen and bowlers are to be blamed. In the last match, the batting approach was quixotic, with Jacques Kallis' slow-coach ways in contrast to Rahul Dravid's fluency. It was down to Robin Uthappa's clean hitting to lift the middle order after four wickets fell in consecutive overs. Too much was left on his plate and he fell just when he seemed to be scripting a classic. In the losses before that game, the bowlers lost the plot, failing to defend 184 against Deccan, and conceding as many against Delhi. The strong batting line-up has been patchy, often putting too much pressure on Kallis who cannot shift gears easily. The side that was branded a Test team in 2008 seems to slipping towards that label.