RCB look to maintain momentum against hapless Warriors

Pune -  Royal Challengers, who got back their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with a convincing win against Mumbai Indians, will be looking to strengthen their position when they take on Pune Warriors in their away game here Friday.

The last time the two teams met, Royal Challangers, chasing 183 runs won by six wickets with AB de Villiers staring with a with 14- ball 33 (2x4, 3x6).

De Villiers, the second highest run scorer for Bangalore with 292 runs from 12 games and Chris Gayle, the Orange Cap holder with 515 runs in 11 games, have the potential to rip apart Pune Warriors bowling attack.

Bangalore's bowling struck the right note and will be a positive aspect to count on in the final stages of the tournament.

Both Zaheer Khan (nine wickets from 12 games) and Vinay Kumar (10 wickets from 11 games) bowled in tandem with the new ball to restrict Mumbai Indians to modest total in the last match. The experience of Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (10 wickets from six games) is proving to be a extra addition with the veteran holding on the run scoring during the middle overs with an economy of 6.41 runs per over.

On the other hand, Pune Warriors, whose chances of qualifying for the play-offs are all but over, now only have to play for pride. Pune Warriors started their campaign well with two consecutive wins against Mumbai and Kings XI Punjab later lost their way and never recovered. They have lost nine of 13 games under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly.

With the addition of Australian captain Michael Clarke (72 runs from four matches) and the return of Ashok Dinda (nine wickets from seven games) from injury have failed to rejuvenate the side.

Robin Uthappa (353 runs from 13 games) and Steven Smith (301 runs from 13 games) are in good form but Ganguly has been a disaster. Dropping New Zealand southpaw Jesse Ryder (233 runs from nine matches) hurt Pune the most with openers constantly failing to give the side a good start.

Pune who finished ninth in the 2011 IPL season will look to win the remaining matches and lift themselves in the point tally.