order was exposed against a quality SRH bowling attack as they were bundled out for just 68 while Rajasthan also have a potent bowling attack which can also trigger something like that if Bangalore batters didn’t learn from their past mistakes.
All eyes will be on batting maestro Virat Kohli who has been going through a rough patch this season with back-to-back golden ducks in the last two matches. He has not registered a single 50-plus score this season which is a worrying sign for RCB who rely heavily on him in the batting order.
While on the other side, Rajasthan are enjoying the imperious form of Jos Buttler who is batting in his own league this season and has already smashed three IPL centuries. Apart from Buttler, RR also have a spin wizard in Yuzvendra Chahal which RCB are pretty familiar with.
While the Challengers come into the match on the back of a demoralising nine-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan have had two successive wins and are one of the in-form teams this season. While the focus would be on Kohli, RCB have also power-hitters in captain Faf Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaaz Ahmed, who can be destructive on their day and if they fire in unison, the RR attack would have a tough time.
RR would be hoping that the top order delivers once again at the MCA Stadium, which has witnessed high-scoring games. The weak links in Rajasthan’s batting are Karun Nair and Riyan Parag and the duo would need to step up and deliver. For RCB, they have the best death bowler in Harshal Patel, but he would need support from Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood. The four overs by Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who has eleven wickets, could also change the match’s fate.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Kariappa, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rassie Van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.