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Sharjah: unbeaten thus far, Royal Challengers bangalore would be eyeing a hat-trick of wins to travel to the highest of points table as city Knight Riders look to shake off their last match`s disappointment once the two sides clash against ANother} in an IPL match here thursday.

The star-studded bangalore, that boast of some of the foremost feared Twenty20 batsmen in their line-up, have won both their games thus far.

The results have come back despite the absence of the destructive Chris Gayle, who has been nursing a sore back. He, however, is anticipated to be suitable today`s match.

In his absence, the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel and South African import A B First State Villiers have made quite statement with their efforts to indicate that the times of RCB being known as a one-woman show are over.

A slight concern has been skipper Virat Kohli, who is however to hit the groove, however given his name, the lean patch isn’t expected to last too long.

Kolkata too have a decent line-up at their disposal and it too has faired well. even supposing there aren`t any massive stars to boast of however the likes of Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa have made their presence felt.

However, additional would be expected of established players like skipper Gautam Gambhir and South African legend Jacques Kallis. the shape of both these players would be crucial to decide however so much the team manages to progress.

Besides, expert Yusuf Pathan will ought to repay the religion that the team has shown in him despite a protracted struggle for type.

RCB have slight edge in the bowling department. Mitchell Starc, Albie Morkel and Varun Aaron quite virtually smothered star-studded defensive champions Bombay Indians in their previous match.

And the trio would be quite challenge for KKR to alter in today`s game.

The KKR bowling, on the other hand, was taken to the cleaners by metropolis Daredevils in their previous game. The likes of Morne Morkel and R Vinay Kumar seemed helpless as Delhi`s batsmen hit them all over the park.

KKR`s bowlers will find it laborious to contain associated dismiss RCB`s destructive-looking line-up and it’d take a special effort for them to escape an onslaught.

Given the make-up of the two teams RCB will begin clear favourites however KKR would look to spring a surprise.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Chris Gayle, AB First State Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel, Albie Morkel, Mitchell Starc, Ashok Dinda, Ravi Rampaul, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron, Vijay, Sachin amphibian genus, Yogesh Takawale, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shadab Jakati, Sandeep Warrier, Harshal Patel, Tanmay Mishra.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Morne Morkel, Piyush Chawla, Manish Pandey, Veer Pratap Singh, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, SS Mandal, Pat Cummins, Debabrata Das, Suryakumar Yadav, Manvinder Bisla, Ryan 10 Doeschate, Kuldeep Yadav.