Overview:
We've come almost towards the end of the 16th edition of IPL. We've seen some exceptional cricket being played till now. A lot of teams are in contention. The points table is spicing up and the teams are playing like there's no tomorrow. This one promises to be nothing different. Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Rajasthan Royals in the 60th match of the season. These two sides had faced each other earlier in the tournament in Bangalore. In a very close encounter, RCB had edged out RR by 7 runs. In Jaipur, RR would be looking to reverse the results.
RCB have won 5 out of their 11 matches and RR have won 6 out of their 12 matches they've played so far in the tournament. RCB would be desperately looking forward to winning after losing back to back matches. They would want their lower middle order batters to step up big time. Rajasthan with the home crowd behind them and some in-form players, can also perform well and continue their march towards a playoff spot. That promises to be an exciting game of cricket for the fans.
Preview:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: After having a decent first half, RCB have fallen since then. They've managed to win only one game out of their last 4 games. Their top order batting has been great till now. The top 3 of Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell look very good. But that's that. Their middle order simply isn't scoring runs consistently for them. The likes of Mahipal Lomror, Kedar Jadhav, Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik have to fire with the bat.
Add to their batting woes, they've found bowling woes too. In the last two games, their bowling has been clueless to say the least. Since the finishers don't finish on a high, RCB lose momentum towards the end of their batting innings. A slight onslaught from the opposition, and the bowlers lose their morale. Josh Hazlewood hasn't done anything great apart from that LSG game. Mohammad Siraj is looking off color. Harshal Patel is nowhere close to his best. Only Wanindu Hasaranga has been performing for them in the last 3-4 games. They've to address this issue big time.
Rajasthan Royals: Much like RCB, they have had a poor second half. They had a brilliant first half, dominating the points table consistently. But they've now lost 5 out of their last 7 games. Their most recent result was a thumping win against KKR. That should encourage them against RCB. Their batting is fantastic on paper. Yashasvi Jaiswal has been sensational with the bat in the ongoing season. Jos Buttler is going through a rough patch. But always trust him to deliver when the stakes are high. Sanju Samson has been pretty good, although RR would like a consistent version of him. Joe Root can be the perfect anchor required for the side. After him, there's an army of finishers like Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Their bowling attack looks great though. Trent Boult is one of the best new ball bowlers in the world. And he's surely performing like one. To accompany him is the duo of Sandeep Sharma and KM Asif. Yuzuvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin have been at their best this season. If necessary, they can get either Jason Holder or Adam Zampa according to matchups and conditions. They even have the services of a part timer like Joe Root. Of course, he's yet to get a chance to bat for RR.
Probable Playing XIs:
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Faf Du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj
Rajasthan Royals:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Joe Root, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzuvendra Chahal, KM Asif , Sandeep Sharma.
Interesting Facts:
- Head to Head: Both the teams have faced each other 29 times in the IPL. RCB have won 14 of them. RR has managed to win 12 times. Three games have ended with no result.
- Jos Buttler is one six away from completing 150 sixes in IPL.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal is one six away from completing 150 sixes in IPL.
- Ravichandran Ashwin is 2 wickets away from becoming the joint fourth highest wicket taker in IPL.
- Faf Du Plessis is just 21 runs away from completing 4000 runs in IPL.
- With 576 runs in 11 innings, Faf Du Plessis is currently the orange cap holder of the season.
- Competing with Faf almost neck to neck, is Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has scored 575 runs in 12 innings so far.
- Yuzuvendra Chahal needs just 2 wickets to become purple cap holder of the season momentarily.
- Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell lead the chart of top 2 six hitters of the season (32 and 27 sixes) respectively.
Pitch/Weather Report:
The match will be played in Sawai Mansingh stadium, Jaipur. It's been a good surface till now. It has been supportive for all. There's of course the early swing on offer. The back of the length deliveries have been key for the pacers. Spinners can get some purchase from the surface. Skilled batters can counter the bowlers and score runs.
By the Indian standards, it has fairly long boundaries. The square boundaries are a bit short, but the straight boundaries are longer. The venue hasn't seen a balanced scoring pattern in the ongoing season till now. One can expect another medium scoring game. The teams winning the toss would love to bat first since it'd be a day game.
Venue: Sawai Mansingh stadium, Jaipur.
Date and Time: 14th May 2023, Sunday, 3:30 PM (IST).
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Jio Cinema.
Dream 11 team:
