IPL 2017 Highlights, RPS vs RCB in Pune, cricket score and updates: Pune hammer Bangalore by 61 runs

Lockie Ferguson is awarded the Man of the Match

Steve Smith: Tonight it was a complete performance. Lockie Ferguson bowled beautifully today, he hasn’t had many chances but today he bowled splendidly.

For the second time in the season, RPS have won two from two against the same team. They won both their games against Mumbai Indians, and now have won both their games against RCB, both strong teams. Gives an idea of how RPS are now challenging for a spot in the playoffs, holding fourth place on the table.

Rising Pune Supergiant while defending a total:

IPL-2016:  Matches – 7, Lost – 7

IPL-2017: Matches – 6, Won – 3. Lost – 3

Fewest runs conceded in a 4-over spell in IPL:

6 – Fidel Edwards v KKR, Cape Town, 2009

6 – Ashish Nehra v KXIP, Bloemfontein, 2009

7 – Rahul Sharma v MI, Mumbai (DYP), 2011

7 – LOCKIE FERGUSON v RCB, Gahunje, 2017

RCB needed to win five in a row to keep themselves in playoff contention, but RPS are loading their coffin with rocks and are lowering it into the sea. A win here, without Ben Stokes, will give RPS a lot of confidence (and might also make them wonder why they spent so much on him).

After 20 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 96/9 ( Sreenath Aravind 8 , Yuzvendra Chahal 4)

Christian to bowl the final over. Chahal times his cut in the third delivery towards sweeper cover quite well, though Rahane does a fine job to push the ball back into the playing area. Eight off the final over, with Aravind lofting the ball towards the deep extra-cover boundary as RCB bat their 20 overs out, though they fail to breach the 100-mark. 

Rising Pune Supergiant win by 61 runs!

After 19 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 88/9 ( Sreenath Aravind 3 , Yuzvendra Chahal 1)

Ferguson bowls the penultimate over of the RCB innings, and the only positive that the visitors can draw from their position right now is to bat their quota of 20 overs out. Just two singles off this over, though the batsmen at the crease are trying to get a big hit or two, and not connecting at all. Ferguson finishes with figures of 4-1-7-2.

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 70 to win from 6 balls

After 18 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 86/9 ( Sreenath Aravind 2 , Yuzvendra Chahal 0)

DROPPED! Kohli tries going big towards the leg side, but he gets dropped by Tiwary near the boundary. RCB’s hopes eventually come to an end as he slices a slower ball from Christian towards the deep extra cover boundary, and ends up getting caught by substitute fielder Agarwal! Chahal is the last man out for Bangalore. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 72 to win from 12 balls

OUT! And that virtually is the end of the RCB innings, with Kohli miscuing a full delivery outside off that he tried to loft over extra-cover. Substitute fielder Agarwal takes the catch near the boundary, and RCB lose their ninth wicket with 84 on board.

Kohli c Agarwal (sub) b Christian  55(48)

After 17 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 82/8 ( Virat Kohli (C) 53 , Sreenath Aravind 0)

Tahir bowls his final over, and signs out by grabbing his third wicket, all of which have come off googlies. Kohli ends the boundary drought by smacking the third ball of the over towards the midwicket boundary, bringing up the first boundary in 11 overs. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 76 to win from 18 balls

BOWLED EM! That’s the third wicket for Tahir with the googly, and Badree had no clue of this one, playing against the spin down the wrong line! RCB 82/8

Badree b Tahir 2(7)

FIFTY for Virat Kohli! His third of the ongoing tournament! Has been a lone fighting innings from the RCB captain so far, with the team in bad shape right now in their chase of the 158-run target. Gets to the milestone with a six towards midwicket, which is the first boundary in 11 overs!

After 16 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 74/7 ( Virat Kohli (C) 46 , Samuel Badree 1)

Unadkat into the attack for his final over, with Badree walking out to bat now. Change of bat for Kohli in this over, though we’re not quite sure if that’s going to help the team’s cause right now, though he certainly could get a big hit or two. Meanwhile, the skipper is on the verge of his second fifty of the tournament. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 84 to win from 24 balls

After 15 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 71/7 ( Virat Kohli (C) 45 , )

Tahir into his third over. Milne tries going for a paddle-sweep towards fine-leg, though the fielder running towards the ball succeeds in stopping the boundary with a dive. Tahir ends the over by foxing Milne with a googly, which the latter pats straight to Smith at short midwicket.  

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 87 to win from 30 balls

OUT! Tahir strikes again with the googly, with Milne not quicking picking it and playing it straight to the hands of Smith at short midwicket. RCB 71/7

Milne c Smith b Milne 5(8)

After 14 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 66/6 ( Virat Kohli (C) 43 , Adam Milne 2)

Unadkat back into the attack, with RPS breathing down on RCB’s neck now. Kohli tries to play like he’s got nothing to lose, and tries going for a couple of big hits towards the leg side, although both batsmen have to settle for the singles in this over. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 92 to win from 36 balls

RPS seem to be bracing for the inevitable Kohli explosion, and picking off his partners from the other end. Like we saw when Tiwary and Dhoni were batting, it is not so easy to bat on this wicket, so even chasemaster Kohli may struggle here. And the more partners he loses, earlier he must launch, and the longer he must sustain it. Tall ask.

Wheels have fallen off RCB’s challenge this year. Kohli, world’s best finisher is still there. But rest have buckled under pressure. Forget century or 50 they don’t know where next 10 runs will come from.

Virat Kohli becomes the third player after Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa to score 2000-plus runs while chasing in IPL. 

After 13 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 61/6 ( Virat Kohli (C) 40 , Adam Milne 0)

Another superb over for RPS, with just a single being conceded by Tahir while he gets rid of the potentially dangerous Negi with the wrong ‘un that he slog down the ground, straight to Christian at long-off. Kohli looks glum at the non-striker’s end, with the team facing a certain defeat unless Kohli stirs up some magic at the moment. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 97 from 42.

OUT! Negi looks to slog down the ground towards long-off, but doesn’t quite connect to the wrong ‘un from Tahir, and ends up holing out to Christian near the boundary rope. RCB 61/6

Negi c Christian b Tahir 3(7)

After 12 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 60/5 ( Virat Kohli (C) 39 , Pawan Negi 3)

Christian returns to the attack, having bowled just one over in the day so far. Just seven off the over, with the two batsmen at the centre still not finding the boundaries at the moment, which has not been scored in the last 39 balls at the time of the conclusion of the over. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 98 from 48.

After 11 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 53/5 ( Virat Kohli (C) 33 , Pawan Negi 2)
 

Sundar to Kohli in the 11th over of the innings, and gives away just four singles off the over. The chase is starting to turn into a mission impossible for the Royal Challengers right now, though Kohli’s presence at the crease is still a source of inspiration for the RCB dugout right now. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 105 from 54.

After 10 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 49/5 ( Virat Kohli (C) 31 , Pawan Negi 0)

Binny is the new batsman at the crease, with Ferguson bowling his third over at the moment. And it only gets worse when Binny top-edges a short ball from the New Zealand pacer towards Sundar stationed at long-leg. A leg-bye off the last ball of the over, with RCB’s current run-rate being less than five per over. Superb bowling by the Pune attack so far. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 109 from 60.

OUT! Collapse on for Bangalore, as Binny holes out a short ball to Sundar positioned at long-leg! Second wicket for Fergie! RCB 48/5

Binny c Sundar b Ferguson 1(7)

Another essential to defend a moderate total is great fielding, and we have just seen two pieces of fielding that have put RPS very much in the game. RCB have made a habit out of these collapses;

RPS have never won in Pune defending a total. Right now, only the determination and skill of Virat Kohli seems to stand in the way of that happening.

After 9 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 48/4 ( Virat Kohli (C) 31 , Stuart Binny 1)

Washington Sundar introduced into the attack in the ninth over, with Bangalore under serious pressure to get some quick runs on the board at this stage, judging by the drying up of boundaries for the visitors. Things get worse for Bangalore, with Baby holing out to Smith at midwicket for 2. Just three runs gathered in the remainder of the over. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 110 from 66.

OUT! And now it is Baby who makes the slow walk back to the dug-out. Holes out to Smith at cover off Sundar, with the RPS captain not being too sure about the catch. Umpire Erasmus goes upstairs with ‘Out’ being the soft signal, and the TV umpire is happy with Smith’s catch. RCB reeling at 47/4

Baby c Smith b Sundar 2(4)

After 8 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 45/3 ( Virat Kohli (C) 30 , Sachin Baby 1)

Ferguson into his second over of the innings, and gives away just two singles, with Jadhav throwing his wicket away with thanks to a lack of communication between him and skipper Kohli. Sachin Baby walks out to bat now, and gets off the mark in the last ball of the over. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 113 from 72.

OUT! That was a hara-kiri by Jadhav and he has snapped RCB’s momentum even further! Is run-out for 7! Misfield by Ferguson at the non-striker’s end, and Jadhav sees that as an opportunity to go off for a quick single. The two batsmen are stranded at the non-striker’s end, as Dhoni flicks the bails off on the other side. RCB 44/3

Jadhav run-out 7(12)

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 43/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 29 , Kedar Jadhav (W) 7)

Tahir is introduced into the attack in the first over after powerplay. With just four runs being scored in this over, all of them coming off singles, the pressure keeps increasing on Bangalore, with their run-rate barely above the six-per-over mark right now. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 115 from 78.

In a moderate chase, it is essential to not allow the opponents to run away with a big score in the power play. RPS have done that, and pouched two overseas batters as well. Besides a few loose balls from Deepak Chahar ot Kohli, they have kept a lid on things, and set this game up well.

AB de Villiers’ scores in his last three IPL innings – 8, 5, 3. This is the first time AB de Villiers has got out for single-digit scores in three consecutive innings in IPL.

After 6 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 39/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 27 , Kedar Jadhav (W) 5)

Daniel Christian is introduced into the attack in the final over of powerplay. Jadhav gets the confidence for a pull that carries over the mid-on player to give the new batsman at the crease his first boundary of the innings. Six off the over. Not the best of starts for Bangalore, especially with the loss of two wickets. Umpire signals for the timeout at the end of the over.

After 5 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 33/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 26 , Kedar Jadhav (W) 0)

Ferguson introduced into the attack in the fifth over of the innings. Gets ABD to drive a half-volley straight to Tiwary stationed at short extra-cover. Was timed well, though he did not quite get the elevation necessary. Jadhav walks out to bat, with RCB getting off to a shaky start.

Unbelievable tentative push by ABD to be caught at short cover. An In form ABD would have deposited that in the stands. Soft dismissal again. Rcb now dependant on Kohli, Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav’s strike rate of 160.94 in this IPL is the second highest among all the batsman who have scored atleast 200 runs in this IPL before today. Kedar Jadhav has hit 20 fours and nine sixes in this IPL so far.

OUT! Soft dismissal for Ferguson in his first over, with ABD driving straight to Tiwary at short extra-cover! RCB 32/2

De Villiers c Tiwary b Ferguson 3(8)

After 4 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 30/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 25 , AB de Villiers 2)

Another good over by Unadkat, preventing two world class batsmen in Kohli and AB de Villiers from smacking the ball around towards the boundary. The two batsmen though, exhibit the superb running between the wickets that they’re universally known for. Five off the over.

After 3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 25/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 22 , AB de Villiers 1)

Kohli plunders runs from the other end, unfazed by the early dismissal. Smashes the first ball towards sweeper cover, where Tahir fails to stop the ball. Gets a leading edge next ball that beats short third man, before flicking the fourth ball of the over towards the square-leg boundary. AB de Villiers, the new batsman at the crease, gets off the mark in the first ball of the over.

After 2 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 11/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 9 , )

Kohli brings up the first boundary of the innings, smacking the ball towards the point boundary. Unadkat, who is bowling from the other end, draws first blood for the home team as he cramps Head for room with a back-of-length delivery that the latter gets an inside-edge to, with the ball clipping the bail between middle and leg stump.

Travis Head has been disappointing for RCB. He has scored centuries in Big Bash and ODIs. But not in luck in IPL. Ball nicked bail today. Very unlucky. Just like he was hospitalized after being knocked down by a speeding car in a parking lot. Lost time in cricket. Story of RCB batsmen thus far.

OUT! Unadkat draws first blood, and just about manages to clip the top of Head’s leg stump! RCB 11/1

Head b Unadkat 2(5)

After 1 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 4/0 ( Travis Head 2 , Virat Kohli (C) 2)

Kohli and Head start the RCB innings off with singles, four of which are collected in the first over of the innings, bowled by Deepak Chahar. Dhoni, meanwhile, brings himself close to the stumps in the very first over.

Virat Kohli and Travis Head are out to open the innings for RCB

Virat Kohli has scored most runs against Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL. He has amassed 216 runs from three innings at an average of 108.00 with two fifty-plus scores till day.

It’s tough to get a reading of how good a score this is. There is clearly some grip in the surface, not unlike the pitch when RPS visited the Chinnaswamy. That time, the RPS bowlers defended 160 odd  by bowling a lot of slower balls into the pitch. That will be the order of the day this evening as well. Get set for some revolutions.

RCB bowlers have done very well overall. They were expensive no doubt in the second 10 overs. But they’ll take the final total of 157. Now RCB batsmen must deliver. Kohli, ABD, Head, Jadhav, Sachin baby and Binny have task cut out.  RCB body language in field was very good. Best this season. Can they pull it off.

Rising Pune Supergiant have won only two matches while batting first in IPL out of 12 matches. On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore have not won a match in this IPL while chasing. 

Total defended by Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL:

161 v Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bangalore, 2017

160 v Mumbai Indians, Wankhede, 2017

After 20 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 157/3 ( Manoj Tiwary 44 , MS Dhoni (W) 21)

Aravind to bowl the final over, and doesn’t allow Dhoni much room to go for the shots, giving away a single each in the first three deliveries. Leading edge off Tiwary’s bat in the fourth ball that beats short third man, and runs away for a boundary. Tiwary gets a top-edge that lobs over to the vacant area between square-leg and midwicket. Just a double in the last ball of the innings, with Dhoni steering it towards the fielder stationed at sweeper cover. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore need 158 to win from 20 overs!

After 19 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 147/3 ( Manoj Tiwary 38 , MS Dhoni (W) 18)

Milne to bowl the 19th over. Couple of singles exchanged in the first two deliveries, with Milne doing a fine job by bowling full and wide. That is until Tiwary gets an inside-edge off a similar deilvery that carries all the way to the fine-leg boundary. Eight off the over.

Milne’s pace working against him on the slow pitch. Spinners have done well. Pacemen should control the slog overs for RCB to prosper.

After 18 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 139/3 ( Manoj Tiwary 31 , MS Dhoni (W) 17)

Aravind into the attack, and Dhoni smashes the 400th six of the tournament by heaving one straight down the ground with brute force! Four singles scored in the remainder of the over, with 10 coming off it.

After 17 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 129/3 ( Manoj Tiwary 29 , MS Dhoni (W) 9)

Milne into the attack, with four overs left in the innings. FOUR! Dhoni uses the pace of Milne’s delivery, and slashes it over the backward point fielder to get his first boundary. Guides the next ball towards backward square-leg to get a couple of runs. Wide conceded in the penultimate delivery, with Tiwary pulling away towards the square-leg boundary. 14 off the over!

Negi and Badree have bowled superbly. 4 overs  for 18 and 4 overs for 31 runs respectively. Excellent stuff

Smith’s run chart went through a bit of a growth spurt, before yet another premature dismissal. He has crossed 25 more than 7 times, but only has 2 fifties in thes IPL. 

But he has brought the scoring rate closer to 8 runs an over. Despite the poor run of form that RCB have had, RPS will not be secure with a score of 160.

After 16 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 115/3 ( Manoj Tiwary 23 , MS Dhoni (W) 2)

Badree into his final over, and gets four singles off this over, with Dhoni getting off the mark in this over. Tiwary looks fairly settled at the other end, and will look to go big in the last four overs. Umpire Erasmus signals for the second timeout.

After 15 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 111/3 ( Manoj Tiwary 21 , MS Dhoni (W) 0)

Negi into his final over. Appeals unsuccessfully for an lbw in the first ball, and concedes a wide off the 3rd. Just a single off the remainder of the over, with Dhoni yet to get off the mark as of now.

Binny strikes. It was a Big challenge for the spinners to bowl to batsmen willing to use feet and strike hard at the ball. Badree and Chahal took brunt of Smith and Tiwary aggression. RCB needed wicket. Binny obliged after getting slammed for 10 runs. Smith caught in deep

After 14 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 109/3 ( Manoj Tiwary 20 , MS Dhoni (W) 0)

Binny returns, and gets whacked for back-to-back boundaries at the start of the over! He looks set to get to the 50-run mark when he miscues a slower ball to get caught by Milne near the boundary. Huge cheer at the venue as Dhoni walks out to bat, with the fans hoping for a special show right now.

OUT! Smith perishes, miscuing while trying to guide the ball over the fine-leg boundary, with Milne taking the catch near the boundary! The skipper falls short of the 50 mark by just 5 runs. RPS 108/3

Smith c Milne b Binny 45(32)

After 13 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 98/2 ( Steven Smith (C) 36 , Manoj Tiwary 18)

Chahal into his second over. SIX! Tiway dances down the pitch, and smacks the ball towards the wide long-on boundary to get his first six! 13 off the over, with Smith and Tiwary starting to deal in boundaries.

It almost feels like the middle overs of an ODI. There is a certain lethargy in the scoring rate since the power play, and RCB are getting some really quiet overs in. Despite that 16 run over off Badree, the run rate is still around 7 runs per over.

After 12 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 85/2 ( Steven Smith (C) 32 , Manoj Tiwary 9)

Badree into his third over. SIX! Finally, some relief both for Smith as well as for the team that he captains. Smacks it towards midwicket. Gets back-to-back boundaries after that, cutting one towards backward point, before getting an outside edge that carries all the way to the third man boundary.

After 11 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 69/2 ( Steven Smith (C) 17 , Manoj Tiwary 8)

Negi into his third over, and appeals loudly for an lbw in the second ball of the over against Smith, albeit unsuccessfully. Just two off the over, with captain Smith starting to feel the pressure, and going for a few false shots at the moment.

RCB bowling has held up well in the first half. Kohli used 6 bowlers including Binny and Negi. Didn’t get batsmen used to particular bowler or style. Unlike RCB strategy in past. Looks like lots of thought and planning in past day or so. Rps 67/2 in 10 overs

After 9 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 63/2 ( Steven Smith (C) 14 , Manoj Tiwary 5)

Manoj Tiwary gets a promotion in this game, and starts off with a boundary towards fine-leg. Fine way to get off the mark indeed. Six off the over, with Kohli wearing a relived expression on his face after dropping Tripathi earlier.

Tripathi has now scored six consecutive scores of 30 or more in the IPL. He really has been a both a bulwark and a canon at the top of the order for RPS. 

No one would have predicted that MS Dhoni would not come in at four, but Manoj Tiwary has come in at the position that many were saying he should have owned in the first place. With no Stokes, seems an attempt to lengthen the batting order.

OUT! Negi into his second over, and he gets the in-form man straight away! Tripathi went for a cut, and got a feather edge off the length delivery. RPS 58/2

Rahul Tripathi c Jadhav b Negi 37(28)

After 8 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 57/1 ( Rahul Tripathi 37 , Steven Smith (C) 13)

Stuart Binny from the other end, and the two stick to rotating the strike between themselves in this over as well. Tripathi, meanwhile, is batting on 37 at the moment, and is on set to get to another half-century, his second of the ongoing tournament.

After 7 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 51/1 ( Rahul Tripathi 33 , Steven Smith (C) 11)

Pawan Negi introduced into the attack in the seventh over. Tripathi and Smith stick to the ones and twos in this over, with the former moving into the 30s in this over, with eight coming off it.

Consecutive scores of 30 or more in IPL:

10 – Robin Uthappa 

6 – Matthew Hayden 

6 – KL Rahul 

6 – Gautam Gambhir 

6 – RAHUL TRIPATHI*

RCB has kept scoring in check in power play over despite aggressive Tripathi and Smith. Kohli ringing in 4 change in bowling in 6 overs. Getting proactive. Good body language

A very sedate start from RPS in the Powerplay, despite a couple of boundaries from Tripathi.. In the afternoon the wicket might be slightly slow, and turn a little, but no signs of that so far.  So it will be interesting to see how Smith and Tripathi play this period; they will want to get a measure of the wicket, but still need to up the run rate.

After 6 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 43/1 ( Rahul Tripathi 29 , Steven Smith (C) 7)

Chahal into the attack in the final over of powerplay, and Tripathi cuts towards the off side in the first ball of the over. Couple of fielders running towards the point boundary fail to stop the ball from rolling over. Smith gets another boundary in the over, whacking this one towards long on. Turns out to be a good over for RPS, with 12 coming off it. The umpire signals for the timeout at the end of the over.

Steve Smith is at the fourth place in the list of captains scoring most runs in this IPL. He has scored 275 runs from seven innings at an average of 55.00 as a captain of Rising Pune Supergiant in this IPL. Moreover, he holds the record of scoring most runs at Gahunje in IPL.

Ajinkya Rahane’s average of 31.17 at Gahunje in IPL is his second lowest at a venue among all venues at which he has played atleast five innings in IPL. He has scored 374 runs from 12 innings at Gahunje in IPL. Moreover, his strike rate of 123.49 in this IPL is the worst among all the openers who have faced 100 or more than 100 balls in this season of IPL.

After 5 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 31/1 ( Rahul Tripathi 19 , Steven Smith (C) 5)

SIX! Aravind into the attack, and is smashed for a monster hit first ball by Tripathi, who sends it straight down the ground. Just one run in the remainder of the over, with seven coming off it. Has been a slow start for Pune so far.

RCB has gone for the pace of Milne. Almost paid off in 2nd over. But for dropped catch By virat Kohli off all people. RCB better field well.

After 4 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 24/1 ( Rahul Tripathi 12 , Steven Smith (C) 5)
 

Badree into his second over, and he starts off with the wicket of Rahane in this over, with the latter perishing while looking for a sweep. Skipper Steve Smith arrives at the crease, and gets a boundary first ball with a pull.

OUT! Kohli might have dropped Tripathi earlier, but Milne isn’t one to let go of chances, especially when it is served so easily to him. Rahane goes for the sweep, and gets a top-edge off Badree’s bowling to short fine. RPS 18/1

Rahane c Milne b Badree 6(8)

After 3 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 18/0 ( Ajinkya Rahane 6 , Rahul Tripathi 11)

Finally, the boundaries start flowing for Pune in this over, with Tripathi taking on Milne to collect two boundaries for himself in this over. He is lucky in the last ball of the over though, as Kohli drops a sitter at midwicket.

After 2 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 9/0 ( Ajinkya Rahane 5 , Rahul Tripathi 3)

Badree from the other end, and Rahane and Tripathi are yet to launch their attack on the opposition, getting only singles and just one double in this over, getting five off it. 

Meanwhile, we see a couple of gentlemen from Kenya’s Maasai community sitting in the stands, shouting “Pune! Pune!”.

The bad news is that Ben Stokes is still not fit to play, which is a huge blow. Not just RPS, but even England will be concerned by this, with the Champions trohpy not very far away. It was supposedly a sore shoulder, but has now been revealed to be a grade one muscle tear. 

In his place though, RPS have included Lockie Fergusson to shore up their bowling which was toyed with in the last game by KKR. Shardul Thakur also misses out, Deepak Chahar back in. Some instability in the Xi again.

After 1 overs,Rising Pune Supergiant 4/0 ( Ajinkya Rahane 1 , Rahul Tripathi 2)

Milne bowls the first over of the innings, with Tripathi and Rahane opening the batting for Pune as usual, and starts off with 141 kmph delivery that goes for a dot. Just four runs off the first over, including a wide.

Ajinkya Rahane’s average of 31.17 at Gahunje in IPL is his second lowest at a venue among all venues at which he has played atleast five innings in IPL. He has scored 374 runs from 12 innings at Gahunje in IPL. Moreover, his strike rate of 123.49 in this IPL is the worst among all the openers who have faced 100 or more than 100 balls in this season of IPL.

Teams: 

RPS XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steve Smith, MS Dhoni, Manoj Tiwary, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Lockie Ferguson, Jaydev Unadkat,  Deepak Chahar.

RCB XI: Virat Kohli, Travis Head, AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Adam Milne, Samuel Badree, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sreenath Arvind.

Three changes for RCB: Gayle, Mandeep and Choudhary out. Baby, Binny and Milne in. 

Two changes for RPS: Deepak Chahar and Ferguson in place of Thakur and du Plessis.

TOSS: Royal Challengers Bangalore win the toss, and skipper Virat Kohli elects to field!

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s live coverage of Match 34 of IPL 2017, with Rising Pune Supergiant taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in Match 34 of the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MCA Stadium in Pune.