Overview
After a one-sided victory over the defending champions, Royal Challengers will be full of confidence. They had a tough start to the second phase, but their win against MI will bolster their morale, and they will look to improve their prospects when they face Rajasthan Royals with only four games remaining. With a tremendous 54-run triumph over MI, RCB climbed to 3rd position with 12 points.
Rajasthan is coming off to a disappointing loss against SRH and will be looking to get back on track and gain 2 crucial points. In the absence of Jos Buttler, the RR batting unit has struggled. Sanju Smason’s and their pacers’ progress is encouraging, but if they are to qualify for the playoffs, they will need contributions from other players as well. RR will be looking to avenge their loss against RCB, which they suffered in the first phase of IPL.
Head to head
RR and RCB have one of the closest rivalries in the IPL, as their records are so similar that it’s hard to ascertain the better team. Rajasthan will be seeking to even the score after winning ten games to RCB’s eleven. Rajasthan Royals are coming off a disappointing loss to SRH, while RCB is coming off a commanding victory over the defending champion Mumbai Indians. In the inaugural phase of the IPL, RCB also won the penultimate match by 10 wickets in a one-sided victory.
Players to look out for
Glenn Maxwell
The big show has finally delivered for the big bucks, and RCB will be looking for a replication of Maxwell’s all-around effort like he did against MI in Dubai. In RCB’s solid performance, he scored 56 runs and took two wickets. The RCB’s powerful batting trio of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and ABD had performed admirably.
Sanju Samson
Although Sanju Samson has struggled to score runs in Dubai his recent form shows a positive sign in this upcoming match. He has scored 433 runs with an astonishing average of 54.12. Samson has been a lone warrior of their team and will be looking for contributions from his middle-order batters.
Rajasthan’s key to victory
Rajasthan’s spinners have struggled to make an impact, but their fast bowling squad has helped them reclaim their place in the league. Mustafizur’s “Fizz,” combined with solid performances from youthful Kartik and Chetan, bodes well for them. Their quick bowlers have taken 44 of 51 wickets in total. However, in this fixture, RR may opt for their leg-spin of Shreyas Gopal and Tabraiz Shamsi to counter for RCB’s Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers.
Bangalore’s key to victory
The dynamic combo of Kohli and ABD had a strong showing against RR and will be crucial in taming Rajasthan’s in-form pace attack. RCB will also be counting on star all-rounder Maxwell, who has been impressing with both bat and ball in IPL 2021. Harshal Patel, the current purple cap holder, has taken 9 wickets in 5 games against Rajasthan.
Rajasthan boasts one of the greatest mid-overs run rates, which allows them to attack in the final overs. Yuzvender Chahal will be entrusted to produce important wickets in the middle overs.
Probable XI
RCB: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Daniel Christian, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
RR: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris/Tabraiz Shamsi, Chetan Sakariya, J. Unadkat, Mustafizur Rahman