Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore will play each other in Match 43 of the IPL.
Until yesterday, Rajasthan were one of four teams tied on 8 points. However, both Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians shot past them with wins in their respective matches against Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings. As a result, Rajasthan are now at seventh place with a net run rate of -0.369. Not only do they need to win, but they need to improve their net run rate as well.
Rajasthan's form has not been encouraging, and they are clearly missing their overseas stars. Since the beginning of the UAE leg, they have won one match – a near-miraculous effort – and lost the other two, despite Sanju Samson's valiant efforts.
They failed to make up for the absence of Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes. Liam Livingstone's batting position seems uncertain. If case they want to continue with Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top, they may leave out Livingstone for the experienced David Miller. They will also be unhappy with the form of their middle-order batters like Riyan Parag and Rahul Tewatia, and may replace them with the likes of Shivam Dube or Manan Vohra.
Their pace bowling looks in good shape, with Mustafizur Rahman leading the pack with his variations and cutters. Chetan Sakariya is dependable, and they will hope Kartik Tyagi to be fit. Rajasthan may drop one of their fast bowlers and bring in leg spinner Shreyas Gopal, who boasts of a very good record against RCB.
Despite their brilliant win against Mumbai, Bangalore's net run rate is still a concerning -0.359. They will not want to leave the fight for qualification until the very end. A win here will again give them a much-needed 4-point cushion above their nearest rivals.
The team management should be happy with Virat Kohli’s form, but will expect him to stay until the death overs. The inclusion of Glenn Maxwell has been a boost, as he has been consistently taking the pressure off A.B. de Villiers. Bangalore have been experimenting with their batting order, promoting K.S. Bharat, Maxwell, and de Villiers depending on the situation.
Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel has been RCB's greatest highlight this season, with a staggering 23 wickets, mostly with his slower balls. He started the season with a five-wicket haul against Mumbai Indians and picked up the first hat-trick of his career against the same team in their last contest. Yuzvendra Chahal has a very good record in the UAE. After a tight spell against Chennai Super Kings, he once again delivered against Mumbai with an impressive 3-11. His form will be crucial for Bangalore in the later part of the season.
Likely XIs
Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, K.S. Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, A.B. de Villiers, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj.
Fantasy Tips
- Samson and Kohli both are coming off fifties in their last two matches.
- Harshal has been getting wickets in almost every match
- Maxwell is bowling regularly and contributing with both bat and ball
Blitzpools Fantasy XI
Sanju Samson (c), Virat Kohli (vc), Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Evin Lewis; Glenn Maxwell; Harshal Patel, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj
