Royal Challengers Bangalore will host the Rajasthan Royals on 23rd April to kick off the Super Sunday.
Both monarchies have had an uneven journey till now.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Royal Challengers defeated Punjab Kings in their last match, on the back of their opener’s premier bowler Mohammad Siraj.
Recent Form: W L W L L
The main reason for their inconsistent performances is their lacklustre middle order.
The Big 3 of Maxwell, Kohli, Faf along with Siraj have done the heavy lifting till now and it's due time that other players contribute. Injuries have been another thorn in RCB's journey so far. Hazlewood is still unlikely to return tomorrow whereas star batsman Du Plessis is also nursing a rib injury sustained against CSK. Moreover, RCB has failed to utilize the home advantage this season around, losing 2 out of the 4 games played at Chinnaswamy so far.
Predicted Playing XI:
Faf Du Plessis, Virat Kohli (C), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Suyash Prabhudesai, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk) , Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Wayne Parnell, Mohammad Siraj (Impact Player: Karn Sharma(or) Vyshak Kumar for Faf Du Plessis)
Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan have done well so far to justify the tag of dark horses, heading into this match as table leaders. However, they would be disappointed after their last match against LSG, where Buttler and co. should have finished things off.
Recent Form: L W W W L
Rajasthan seem to be the most balanced side of the tournament so far. Their batting is laden with dynamic batsmen throughout the order, which provides them with a flexibility like no other team. With the ball, Ashwin and Boult have been top class, with suitable support from Chahal and Sandeep Sharma.
Their spin attack might prove to be the Trump card in this match, with RCB's awful stroke game against the spinners in the middle overs. Maxwell becomes much more crucial for Bangalore.
Predicted Playing XI:
Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C & wk) , DevDutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal (Impact player: Sandeep Sharma to replace Riyan).
Interesting Stats:
- Virat Kohli needs 97 runs to become the first batsman to score 7000 IPL runs.
- Trent Boult is 1 wicket away from 100 IPL career wickets.
- Virat Kohli is 1 catch away from 100 IPL career catches.
Weather and Pitch Report:
It's expected to be a clear sky and hence one can expect a cracker of a contest. All games at Chinnaswamy have been high scoring so far this season, and one can expect the trend to continue. Don't be surprised if another 200+ is chased down tomorrow.
Date and Time: 23rd April, 3:30 pm
Venue: M Chinnaswamy, Bangalore
Live Streaming: Star Sports network and JioCinema.
Dream 11 Team:
