It's a battle of the 'Royals' tonight. Rajasthan Royals (RR), the only unbeaten team in IPL 2022 so far, will take on a depleted Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 13 of competition at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday night.
Having won their two matches handsomely, Rajasthan, led by Sanju Samson, are the more confident of the two teams. Glenn Maxwell's unavailability continues to cause a problem in balance for RCB, whose batting still looks slightly top-heavy. They beat Kolkata Knight Riders in the last match, but they almost messed up the run-chase of 128.
However, their bowlers stuck to their job brilliantly that night. Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel – two their most trusted wicket-takers – looked in good rhythm, while young Akash Deep provided timely breakthroughs. Tonight, against the likes of Jos Buttler, who scored a 68-ball 100 against Mumbai in the last game, Bangalore will need their bowling attack to be on their toes.
RR will back their spin-duo of R. Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal against the likes of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. In recent years, both men have struggled to up the ante against spinners in the middle overs. Chahal and Ashwin have, between them, taken six wickets in 16 overs at just over a run a ball, so this match up can decide the game. Chahal, in particular, will be eager to prove a point against his former team.
Likely XIs
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, R. Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
Fantasy tips
- Pick both Chahal and Ashwin.
- Wankhede is traditionally a high-scoring venue, but the teams batting first here have failed to live up to expectations this season. However, this game can be an expectation.
.- The new ball has swung significantly here. Back the likes of Boult, Prasidh and Siraj to take wickets upfront.
Where to watch
Live streaming of Match 13 of IPL 2022 between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will start at 7.30 PM IST on March 27. You can watch the match on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.