IPL 2021 Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Live Updates from Dubai

IPL 2021 RR vs RCB Live: Welcome to our live coverage of Match 43 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 where Rajasthan Royals (RR) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. 

Virat Kohli-led Bangalore unit will look to consolidate its position in the top-four as it takes on a struggling Royals camp. Bangalore are currently at third spot with 12 points from 10 matches and a win over Rajasthan will virtually put them in the play-offs.

Bangalore beat Rajasthan by seven wickets!

Maxwell's fifty and Bharat's 35-ball 44 have helped Bangalore defeat Rajasthan by seven wickets and move closer towards the playoffs berth. Kohli (25) and Padikkal (22) laid the foundation -- stitching a 48-run stand for the opening wicket -- before Bharat and Maxwell fostered the run-chase. de Villiers finished it off with a boundary off Parag as Bangalore notch up seventh win of the season. They are sitting third on the points table, two points behind Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.

22:52 IST: WICKET! Mustafizur picks his second, removes Bharat to finally break the partnership. Bharat hooks the delivery but picks out Lomror. Is it too late though? de Villiers comes to the crease, joins Maxwell (28*) as Bangalore look to close in on the win. 

22:36 IST:  Bharat (33*) and Maxwell (18*) have steadied the run-chase after Kohli's departure. Bangalore are past the 100-run mark and sniffing the win now. Bangalore 106/2 after 13 overs. 

22:20 IST: What a brilliant effort from Mustafizur! Maxwell tries to pull Tyagi's delivery. Top-edged but looks like it's going over the rope. Mustfafizur reaches out and throws the ball into the field of play; saves five runs for his side. 

22:10 IST: WICKET! A fantastic effort by Parag to run Kohli out. A direct hit at the bowler's end leads to Kohli's departure. Two instant blows for RCB after the Powerplay. Maxwell joins Bharat in the middle.

22:00 IST: Bangalore 54/1 after 6 overs. A confident start from RCB despite losing Padikkal. The young lad teamed up with Kohli in the Powerplay, hitting a flurry of boundaries before falling prey to Mustafizur. Skipper Kohli is still at the crease and Rajasthan will eye a few more wickets to stay alive in the contest.

21:20 IST: A fine bowling display has helped Bangalore restrict Rajasthan to 149/9. Jaiswal (31) and Lewis (58) added 77 at the start but the latter's wicket triggered RR's slump. Shahbaz, Chahal picked two wickets each while Purple Cap holder Harshal added three to his name. Garton and Christian also picked one wicket each. Bangalore need 150 to win the contest. 

21:15 IST: WICKET! Two in two for Purple Cap holder Harshal! He dismisses Riyan and Morris to consolidate his position at the top. 25 wickets for the pacer so far in the season.

20:58 IST: WICKET! Another blow for the Royals as Chahal gets Livingstone for 6. He perishes while trying to clear the fence. Rajasthan have lost four wickets in the last five overs now! Chahal finishes with figures of 2/18.

20:49 IST: WICKET! Shahbaz does it again! Tewatia's poor run continues. He tries to sweep Shahbaz but the ball flies to Padikkal who completes a brilliant catch. Parag is the next man in. 

20:45 IST: WICKET! Another one! Shahbaz introduced into the attack and he makes an instant impact. Samson looks to clear the rope but picks out Padikkal at deep extra cover. A mini-batting collapse for Royals. Tewatia joins Livingstone in the middle. 

20:42 IST: WICKET! Chahal also joins the party. Lomror charges down the track but misses it completely. Bharat makes no mistake behind the stumps. 

20:37 IST: WICKET! RCB can finally breathe a sigh of relief! Lewis departs after a brilliant fifty but he could have added a few more at death. Also, Garton picks his maiden IPL wicket. Lomror joins skipper Samson in the middle. 

20:22 IST: Fifty for Lewis, his third in IPL career now. It came off just 31 balls, laced with four boundaries and three sixes as Rajasthan near the 100-run mark. 

20:14 IST: WICKET! First breakthrough for Bangalore as Dan Christian dismissed Jaiswal for 31. 

20:01 IST: 56 for now loss in powerplay! This is the fourth time Rajasthan have scored 50 or more inside the first six overs in IPL 2021. Lewis smashed a six and a four against Harshal Patel to take his tally to 41 off 21 in the match while Jaiswal is on 15 off 15. 

19:48 IST: Impressive start from Rajasthan! After Bangalore conceded eight runs in the first two overs from Garton and Siraj, Kohli brought in Maxwell with two left-handers at the crease. But the match-up failed to work as Jaiswal clobbered him for a 96-meter hit six over mid-wicket before Lewis cut the shorter one through backward point for a boundary. On Garton's return, Lewis hammered two sixes and a boundary to take Rajasthan to 39/0 in four overs. 

19:33 IST: Garton opened the bowling for Bangalore on his debut IPL appearance. In 17 T20 matches this year, Garton has picked 21 wickets at 19.3 with a strike rate of 14.4. 

19:04 IST: CAPTAINS SPEAK...

Samson: Wicket is nice. Lot of people who have batted first and won the game at this venue. As a team we were a bit down. Had a long chat yesterday. Revisited the purpose of playing the game. Lots of supporters back home. Karthik Tyagi comes in place of Jayden Unadkat.

Kohli: Going to bowl first. Feel like the pitch remained good in the last game. If you get off a decent start you can get runs consistently. Feel as a batting unit we're doing a good job and want to continue that. Want to provide our bowlers with the conditions - it's a new pitch. We asked for the guys to be brave in crunch moments and they showed that in the last game. I feel like I'm hitting the ball the best I have in a while. Just one change: Garton makes his IPL debut in place of Jamieson.

19:03 IST: Here are the playing XI for the two teams...

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, George Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

19:03 IST: TOSS UPDATE: Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and opted to bowl against Rajasthan Royals

18:07 IST: In terms of the head-to-head tie, the two teams are neck and neck with RCB winning 11 of the 23 games and losing 10 in the rivalry. However, RCB have won all their last three matches. 

17:24: Check out the qualification scenario for the two teams - READ

RR vs RCB, Match Preview: A thumping win over defending champions Mumbai Indians boosting their confidence, Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to build on the momentum when they take on a struggling Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.

The Virat Kohli-led RCB are currently at third spot with 12 points from 10 matches and a win over RR will virtually put them in the play-offs. On the other hand, with eight points from 10 matches, it will be a make-or-break outing for RR as a loss on Wednesday can put them in a tight situation in their bid for a last-four berth. [FULL PREVIEW]