Daijiworld Media Network

Pune, May 2: 175. This number haunted Pune in their previous encounter against Bangalore. This was not the team score but it was Gayle's highest individual score in all T20s. He scored the fastest hundred in all of cricket on 23rd April and to complete the perfect murder, he snapped up two wickets towards the end as well. Pune will look to avoid a repeat of that nightmare and put in a better performance. Bangalore, on the other hand, have lost four consecutive games away from home and will look to snap that losing streak today.

Bangalore have won the toss and elected to bat.

Finch: 'It was decided that one captain continue throughout the full tournament. We will look to spoil the party of the other teams in this tournament. We will look to put a dent in the confidence of Bangalore today. Ajantha Mendis replaces Kane Richardson and Mathews replaces Luke Wright.'

Virat Kohli: 'We have lost two close games and we did not execute the plans better. It is a slow wicket. I hope I can contribute today. This wicket is going to get slower as the game progresses. We are not thinking about the Chris Gayle tag. If he does not fire, then there are others who can contribute.'

Finch is now the full-time captain for Pune. He will now be the captain for the full tournament in place of Angelo Mathews.

Teams:

Bangalore (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Moises Henriques, Saurabh Tiwary, Arun Karthik(w), Murali Kartik, Vinay Kumar, RP Singh, Muttiah Muralitharan

Pune (Playing XI): Robin Uthappa(w), Aaron Finch(c), Tirumalsetti Suman, Yuvraj Singh, Steven Smith, Angelo Mathews, Abhishek Nayar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Ajantha Mendis

Match Preview

Pune, disoriented with five straight losses despite changing captains, are reeling at the bottom of the points table utterly unsure of what to do next. Meanwhile, a star-studded Bangalore team have been unbeatable at home but will be hoping to shed the tag of losing 'away' matches. Bottom-dwellers Pune will be looking forward to play the party-poopers at home to upset Bangalore's campaign and hand them their third loss in a row.

Pune

Team News: One major drawback of the Pune team has been lack of consistency from any of the players. Their batsmen have been their biggest let down and their bowlers lack the discipline to perform under pressure. While Finch and Uthappa have been good openers, they fail to capitalize on good starts and crumble as the match progresses. Their death overs bowling is worst among all teams as Ashok Dinda and Rahul Sharma continue to leak runs in most of their matches. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the only successful and consistent bowler for them and it would not be a bad idea to team him up with Parvez Rasool to try out a fresh combination.

In form player: Aaron Finch - Finch is a big hitter and has provided Pune with an explosive start most of the times. He has gathered 281 runs so far in the tournament but would be looking forward to build up his innings and boost Pune's overall total.

Hit: Steven Smith - Famous for his quick-fire cameos, Smith has been responsible in providing some useful runs in the middle order. He has chipped in 155 runs in his six matches and if he gets a proper base of runs to work upon, he is sure to fire more effectively for the team.

Miss: T Suman - He has had a forgettable tournament so far. Except that one match against Mumbai where he scored 24 runs, he has looked rather lackluster. It will be his job to play a second fiddle to other middle order batsmen and support them in order for Pune to click as a batting unit.

Last three matches: Lost to Chennai by 37 runs, Lost to Delhi by 15 runs, Lost to Bangalore by 130 runs

Bangalore

Team News: It is a general assumption that Bangalore falter when Gayle falters and if the last two matches are anything to go by, that has indeed been the case both times. Bangalore will need some good performances apart from the top three (Gayle, Kohli and ABD) and stop being so reliant on the top order. Their bowling attack is spear headed by an in-form Ravi Rampaul and Vinay Kumar and they just need to stick to their basics with these two in the team. Although they are in a good position, Bangalore will be desperate to return to winning ways as they know one more defeat will not only affect their momentum but also change things around in quick time.

In form player: Chris Gayle - As an orange cap holder, he has been sensational throughout this season. He has amassed 484 runs so far and hit 36 blazing sixes. Once he starts going, it is practically impossible to stop him and Bangalore will hope that Gayle recreates the same destructive form which he displayed against Pune last week.

Hit: AB Devilliers - He has been on a roll raking up runs and playing some lusty shots. He plays with such ease and aggression that the opposition team can barely stop him when the onslaught begins. He will be looking forward to add some valuable runs at the top and get them going if the openers fail.

Miss: Jaidev Unadkat - He has been very patchy in his performances and failing under pressure. He has not looked particularly impressive in all the matches he has played so far and failed to curb the flow of runs. It will be interesting to see how he bowls against a weak opposition and he will need to come up with a decent bowling performance to stop the run flow from Pune's top order.

Last three matches: Lost to Rajasthan by 4 wickets, Lost to Mumbai by 58 runs, Won against Pune by 130 runs

Head to Head: 4 matches: Bangalore - 4, Pune - 0

Quotes:

We have played very well until the last two matches, but we can't use it as an excuse. Will look to do better in the next match. - Kohli says the Bangalore team is eager to learn from failures and will come back stronger.

Rahul Sharma feels Pune need to click as a unit - The boys are a good bunch and keep motivating themselves, all are strong. But then I think we are not clicking together. It is a new team and the captain is also new.

CB Pick: Bangalore - Last time they played Pune, Gayle storm was responsible for annihilating the weak team mercilessly. Bangalore are definitely a stronger team and will look to gain back their winning momentum after two back to back losses.