As it was the other night when CSK came calling, the game could well be a tale of the two captains. There seems to be some sort of consensus among many cricket pundits, if not all, that R Ashwin is the IPL's second best captain with MS Dhoni the runaway first. While that doesn't make for pretty reading as far as RCB's captain Virat Kohli goes, don't forget he's also the Indian captain in all three formats of the game. Ashwin's new-found tag of an able leader is well earned.

Look at the side at his disposal: Gayle is a RCB discard and he was discarded for all the right reasons. Rahul is coming back from a terrible phase on and off the field, David Miller is a pale shadow of his earlier self and Sam Curran is as yet a poor man's Ben Stokes. Ashwin himself is out of the Indian team as far as white ball cricket is concerned and yet as a true captain must, he's been able to ensure that the sum is equal to more than its parts. RCB, on the other hand, are a team full of stars but they are not just firing enough, not individually nor as a team. In the two most recent games, both of which they won but ones they could well have lost, the collective effort has been better. They need more of that tonight.

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