RCB and RR will face off against each other today for the first time this season. RCB has a 50-50 record so far this IPL. Winning 1 and Losing 1 out of their first two matches. Meanwhile, RR has a 100% record so far. And are currently table toppers with a heavy advantage in Net Run Rate. And RCB are currently sitting on 7th. With a negative run rate. Not the start they were aiming for, but victory in the last game has them on a good momentum and in great spirits as well. This match sets to become a nail-biter.
The match will be at Wankhede Stadium tonight at 7:30. Viewers can view it on Hotstar and on star sports channels which are Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, and on Star Sports Select 1 HD.
RR’s Previous Result
Rajasthan handed out a defeat to Mumbai Indians in their previous outing. They defeated them by a margin of 23 runs. RR, while batting first, posted a total of 193-8 after 20 overs. Due to the massive innings of Jos Buttler. In which the England wicketkeeper scored his first century ever in IPL. That also got him the orange cup. As he has become the current orange cap holder. Buttler, with the help of Sanju Samson and Hetmeyer, posted this total. Which got them across the line in the end.
Mumbai Indians in response to them. Started off really well with Ishan Kishan hitting a half-century. And then Tilak Verma, the youngster handing out a quickfire 61 off 33 balls before getting dismissed by Ashwin. After, which the Royals took total control of the game and, in the end, won it comfortably with a margin of 23 runs. And climbing to the top of the table in the process.
RCB’s previous result
RCB’s last game was a low scoring nail biter. Which is an exception to the current trend followed in this year’s IPL. Where most of the games have been high scoring due to small grounds and high amounts of dew. Which is due to the fact that the grounds are in Mumbai and Pune, which are relatively close to Coastal Areas.
RCB bowled first. And restricted KKR to just 128-10 in 19.2 overs. RCB’s bowlers bowled brilliantly on a wicket that was offering a bit of help to the bowlers. And, especially to Hasranga, who bowled beautifully to take 4 wickets of his full quota of 4 overs and conceding just 20 runs. Akash Deep also took 3 wickets. KKR’s highest scorer was Russel, with 25 runs.
KKR came all guns blazing against RCB in the Powerplay with the new ball. As Umesh Yadav took two wickets and had RCB on the ropes with 17-3 after 2.1 overs. David Willey and Sherfane Rutherford steadied the ship after the quick collapse of the top order. As Willey scored 18 and Rutherford scored 28. Shahbaz Ahmed played his hand as well by scoring 27 of 20 balls. And then Dinesh Karthik came and scored a quickfire 14 to help his current team go across the line against his former employers.
Match predictions, Playing XI, and previous records.
The toss will play a crucial role in deciding today’s winner. Most of the games are being won by the team that wins the toss and bowls first. Teams decide to bowl first owing to the dew coming later on. Which makes it very tough for the bowlers. Hence, making it very hard to defend the target. Wankhede is a relatively small ground. Both of the teams have explosive batsmen, which will look to capitalize on that fact. Hence, the score should be around 160-180 mark. The match will go down right to the wire.
Both teams have faced each other a total of 24 times across the history of this competition. With RCB having a better record with 12 victories in comparison to RR’s 10. With 2 games not bringing about a result.
Over the previous five meetings, RR have not bested RCB. With RCB having won 4 of the last 5 games between the sides and 1 game not yielding a result. They have both faced each other 1 time at Wankhede. Which was also won by RCB.
The historical odds don’t favor RR. But they will be smelling blood. And are on a very good run of form at the moment. Other than that, Yuzvendra Chahal and Devdutt Paddikal, who are previous RCB players, will be looking to show their capabilities to their previous employers, who let them go this season.
It should be a nail-biter going right down to the wire.
Our Winner Prediction: RR
RCB’s probable playing XI
Du Plessis (C)
Dinesh Karthik (WK)
Anuj Rawat
Virat Kohli
Sherfane Rutherford
Shahbaz Ahmed
Wanindu Hasaranga
David Willey
Harshal Patel
Akash Deep
Mohammed Siraj
RCB will most probably be going with the same playing XI as the last game. Their bowling attack has been firing on all cylinders and doesn’t need any changes for the most part. And, any changes might occur when the Australians Glenn Maxwell and Josh Hazlewood arrive from their tours. Maxwell will slot into the middle order once he arrives.
RR’s probable playing XI
Sanju Samson (C and WK)
Jos Buttler
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Devdutt Paddikal
Shimron Hetmeyer
James Neesham
Ravichandran Ashwin
Navdeep Saini
Trent Boult
Yuzvendra Chahal
Prasidh Krishna
RR’s probable playing XI is pretty much the same as last game. The only change we think they might add is James Neesham for Riyan Parag as Neesham is also a very capable finisher. And offers a very handy bowling option as well. Which will help them if any bowler goes wrong or if they need to churn out overs. RR has a very strong squad on paper with healthy options on the bench. Therefore, it is hard to get into the XI. Therefore they aren’t very susceptible to change. The top 5 and the bowling department of RR are pretty much-guaranteed starters. The only change they can make is in Parag’s position to add a bit of firepower to their already very strong side.
In form players:
RR
Jos Buttler is the main man up top for them. The only centurion in this year so far and the current holder of the orange cap. He is in great form and is a certain threat.
Sanju Samson’s IPL has gone off to a flyer. He has scored 85 runs across the first two games with an average of 42.5.
Shimron Hetmeyer has scored 67 runs across both games with a very healthy strike rate of 248.5. He is smashing the ball out of the park with ease at the moment. And will be very hard to stop.
Yuzvendra Chahal, as always, is among the leading wicket-takers. He has taken 5 wickets in just the first two games. And, will be the biggest wicket threat to RCB batsmen as he knows them a lot from their previous practice sessions all these years. And the fact that some of them are weak against spin boosts his chances a lot as well.
Ravi Ashwin has been very good for RR in stopping the batsmen from scoring hence creating wicket-taking opportunities for others.
Trent Boult as always, has been brilliant in the Powerplay. He has picked up wickets in the beginning and sets the tone for the rest of the innings. He will be looking to decapitate RCB’s top order in tonight’s game as well.
RCB
Faf Du Plessis, the captain, looked in great knick in his first game. And he will be looking to add to his total and guide his team home.
Virat Kohli has looked in good touch the first game. He will be looking to score a lot of runs this IPL and regain his past form back for the T20 World Cup this year. And he has a good record against the Royals. Dinesh Karthik has came in and fit like a glove in the finisher role. He is boasting a huge Strike Rate of 216.6 currently.
Wanindu Hasaranga has had a brilliant start to his IPL career under RCB. He has picked up 5 wickets in the first two games. With a healthy economy. Harshal Patel, he equaled the most wickets taken by a bowler in a single season last year. And he has gone off to a good start in this season as well. The man from Haryana bowled a brilliant spell in his last outing. His economy so far is just 5.88, which is brilliant. Harshal will look to add more wickets to his tally of 3 in the first two games.
Our Man Of The Match prediction: Yuzvendra Chahal
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