Team RCB in action in an IPL match. (File Photo)
After losing their last match to Sunrisers Hyderabad by nine wickets with 72 balls spared, the Royal Challengers will be aiming to regain their lost morale in their next game against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.
Their main focus will be to put a halt to the Jos Buttler storm. Jos, who is the highest run-scorer this season, has an average of 81.83 runs from seven matches.
The attention will also be on the former captain Virat Kohli following his second consecutive golden duck in IPL 2022. They will hope for their off-coloured star batter to improve his performance and add scores on the board for his team.
While Bangalore will come into the match after a terrible loss against Hyderabad, Rajasthan has had two successive wins and is one of the in-form teams of this edition of IPL by ranking third on the points table.
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.
RR's bowling attack is varied and is led by Trent Boult, who has troubled Kohli in the past. Prasidh Krishna and the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal can also pose problems for the RCB batters.
For Rajasthan, opener Jos Buttler has been in sublime form, having already hammered three hundred this season.
Opener Devdutt Padikkal and skipper Sanju Samson have also been toying with opposition attacks and are among the runs. And so is Shimon Hetymar, who can compound the bowling team’s woes with his brutal onslaught.
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.
Teams -
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.
The match starts at 7.30 PM.
(Inputs from PTI)
