The season 9 of Vivo Indian Premier League [IPL] is in its last week, and just like earlier seasons, this one has been filled with magnificent actions and excitement on the field and also among the audiences supporting their favorite teams. The Qualifier 1 match between No. 1 team Gujarat Lions and No. 2 team Royal Challengers Bangalore will take off today from Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy stadium, sharp at 8 pm.

RCB captain Virat Kohli Vs GL captain Suresh Raina (indiatoday.indiatoday.in)

The newcomers Gujarat Lions [GL] are in full force to win the final of IPL9 this time. They have scored 18 points, winning 9 matches from total 14 matches, and leading at number 1 position, whereas Royal Challengers Bangalore [RCB] have gained 16 points, winning 8 matches from total 14 matches, to occupy their number 2 position. The stage is all set for IPL play-offs, as GL will play against RCB in order to enter into the final, and today’s losing team will play in Qualifier 2 on 27 May.

Team GL face Team RCB in Qualifier 1 match (www.youtube.com)

Debutantes Gujarat Lions are currently reigning at first rank as they were the first team to qualify for play-offs by beating the title-holders Mumbai Indians. The first time GL played against RCB, they thrashed the Bangalore team by 6-wickets, while lost by 144-run in the second match against RCB.

Captain Raina bats superbly for his GL team (www.oneindia.com)

No doubt, Raina, the captain of GL led its team from the front with back-to-back half centuries in the final 2 league matches so as to finish on the top position. Beside Raina [397 from 13], the batting order will include West Indian Dwayne Smith [250 from 10], former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum [321 from 14], Australian Aaron Finch [339 runs from 11 matches], and stumper Dinesh Karthik [283].

Gujarat Lions bowls and fields greatly (cricwizz.com)

Gujarat adds quality all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo [15 wickets], Dhawal Kulkarni [14 wickets], spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Pravin Tambe.

Dwayne Smith along with his calm medium pace has been an effectual weapon for Suresh Raina, whereas left-arm spin of Jadeja and Shadab Jakati will be better test for RCB batsmen, who will love to play at their home ground.

GL’s Raina and Bravo (ww.sportskeeda.com)

Royal Challengers Bangalore, with an amazing leadership of in-form Virat Kohli [captain] has succeeded in grabbing the second spot. RCB will not only have the benefit of playing a high-pressure match on their home ground, but also take relief from their all-round effort in 6-wicket win against Delhi Daredevils on Sunday.

Virat Kohli in his best form in IPL 9 (www.emirates247.com)

The RCB team is hoping for a great start from Virat Kohli, West Indian Chris Gayle, and South African veteran AB de Villiers. Virat Kohli set a superb record of 919 runs in the current IPL with 4 centuries and 6 fifties a surprising average of 91.90. He has been a remarkable captain and showcased his wonderful batting and excellent leadership qualities.

AB de Villers and Virat Kohli perform excellently (zeenews.india.com)

AB de Villers and Chris Gayle accompanying Kohli too exhibited their striking batting performances. They have been heavy for their opponents. Where de Villers scored 603 runs with 1 century and 5 half-centuries, Chris Gayle displayed few of his awesome batting performances, returning back in his full-form.

Brilliant Bowling and Fielding from RCB’s side (www.india.com)

Shane Watson, Lokesh Rahul, and Sachin Baby form a strong middle-order followed by all-rounder Stuart Binny.

The bowling order is also brilliant with pace-spin due of Shane Watson [16 wickets] and Yuzvendra Chahal [19 wickets] who are among the top 5 wicket-takers, who have improved hugely in the last few matches.

RCB giving their best shot in every match (www.thehindu.com)

Royal Challengers Bangalore Team: Virat Kohli [C], AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Sachin Baby, KL Rahul, Abu Nechim, Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, Sreenath Aravind, Travis Head, Yuzvendra Chahal, Iqbal Abdullah, Keda Jadhav, David Wiese, Chris Jordan, Akshay Karnewar, Vikramjeet Malik, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Parveez Rasool, Kane Richardson, Harshal Patel, Tabraiz Shamshi, Vikas Tokas, Praveen Dubey.

Gujarat Lions: Suresh Raina [C], Dwayne Smith, Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Kartik, Dale Steyn, Praveen Kumar, James Faulkner, Ishan Kishan, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dwayne Bravo, Amit Mishra, Sarabjit Ladda, Akashdeep Nath, Eklavya Dwivedi, Paras Dogra, Shadab Jakati, Pradeep Sangwan, Umang Sharma, Jaydev Shah, Pravin Tambe, Andrew Tye.

RCB’s Virat Kohli and GL’s Bravo (www.india.com)

Well, as the match starts at 8 pm, the audience will be full-packed cheering for their best team, Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers Bangalore are aiming to win today’s match to make a direct entry into Sunday’s final. The team who  bats first gets the chance to put up a huge score, thus giving a tough fight to its opponent to overcome that score.

Watch out for Kohli’s RCB and Raina’s GL tonight (sports.ndtv.com)

Watch GL Vs RCB match today at 8 pm Live on Hotstar; or on Star Sports 1, Sony Max, and Sony Six TV channels. We’ll keep you updated about today’s winner!

May the best team win tonight and be the first to be in final! Though the RCB team seems stronger to score higher runs, but GL can make it possible as debutante entry in the finale. 🙂

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Sanghamitra Roychoudhary

Sanghamitra Roychoudhary

Author at w3buzz.in
A proficient Web Content Developer (Technical and Non-Technical Writer), Blogger, and Freelance Content Writer. A happy author of www.w3buzz.in! She is a creative person, always eager to learn new aspects, and seeking new ways for improving skills in her field. She loves traveling & photography; also, a sports enthusiast!
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Sanghamitra Roychoudhary