Just who will reap the rich harvest for the all the hard labour put in, will be unravelled on Friday when a charged-up Royal Challengers Bangalore take on New South Wales Blues in the first semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 here at the M Chinnaswamy stadium.
The Royal Challengers are on a high after sensational back-to-back victories. They showed how competitive they can be to distance themselves from their rivals.
After a stunning last-ball win over South Australia Redbacks on Thursday night, RCB will run into another strong Australian opponents and Group A toppers New South Wales in what could turn out to be a cracker of a contest.
RCB's batting will revolve around Chris Gayle. The Jamaican has been amongst the runs, providing breezy starts. He took Bangalore by storm with a 46-ball 86 against Somerset and another powerful show by him can carry RCB into the final.
Asserting Gayle's importance in the side, Virat Kohli said, "Gayle is a wonderful impact player for us. I always have believed since IPL that if he doesn't get the runs we would struggle. If he doesn't fire, I have to step up and Tillakaratne Dilshan has to take the mantle."
RCB's Sri Lankan import, Dilshan sizzled against the Redbacks, silencing his critics with a well crafted 47-ball 76 that helped RCB pull off a stunning win.
Kohli, who has turned out to be Mr Dependable for RCB, will keen to continue with his run-scoring spree. Further down, RCB can rely on Mayank Agarwal, Saurabh Tiwary, Daniel Vettori and wicketkeeper-batsman KB Arun Karthik, who sealed the last-four berth with a towering last-ball six.
CL T20: Bangalore clash with Redbacks in do-or-die game
CL T20: RCB, Redbacks score record 429 runs
CLT20: RCB thrash Somerset by 51 runs to stay alive
CL T20: RCB stun Redbacks with last-ball six, enter semis
'I got close to 20 overs which was good for me'