The Royal Challengers Bangalore will play the Cobras in the first game of the Champions League T20 tournament. The match will be played in Bangalore and will be a day night encounter. This is a match for the Group C in the four group tournament. The other side in this group is Otago from New Zealand.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore had been the runner-up during the second edition of the IPL, which gave them the right to be one of the sides for this tournament. And what a performance it had been for the Bangalore side, as they had rallied from the brink of not making it to the semi-finals to entering the finals of the tournament.

However, they will have a couple of players missing from their line-up which may be an issue for them. For one, Kevin Pietersen, who would have loved to feature in a game against any South African side, will be missing with his injured Achilles Heel. As would be Jesse Ryder, who was in fact, named in the squad, but with his strained groin keeping him out of the Champions Trophy, it is almost certain that he will not play in this tournament as well.

This is not to say that the Bangalore do not have others who can deliver. There are a couple who can see through the overs in Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis, and the management will do well to keep them as far apart in the order as possible given their nature of batting. Interspersed between these two should be the more aggressive likes of Ross Taylor, Robin Uthappa and Virat Kohli, all of whom can play their strokes. The two Indians will, however, have a lot of proving to be done, given that their ability to stick around and convert their cameos into something big is something clearly missing.

And it is not as if the Cobras are not without their problems. Graeme Smith has already pulled out of the tournament with a cramps problem, and that would mean that the Cobras will have a new captain in Andrew Puttick who leads the side in his absence. And despite the presence of Herschelle Gibbs, it is a known fact that there could be an up and down kind of form for them. This could be a cause for concern. J.P.Duminy's presence in the middle order may be soothing, but the bowling is another area that the side could be a little wary of.

In Charles Langeveldt and Monde Zondeki, they have two really quick bowlers who could rip the opposition apart. But them aside, the bowling clearly lacks teeth and could be the difference between the two sides!

Tag :- Andrew Puttick   Champions League   Graeme Smith   Herschelle Gibbs   Kevin Pietersen   Rahul Dravid   Robin Uthappa   Ross Taylor   Royal Challengers Bangalore