Sanju Samson won the crucial toss as Rajasthan Royals elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2024 Eliminator on Wednesday. Shimron Hetmyer returned from injury to join Rajasthan's playing eleven for the mega encounter while Bengaluru fielded the same starting eleven that knocked out CSK in their last match.
The Caribbean big-hitter started in the impact substitutes list as the Royals named Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Rovman Powell and Trent Boult as three overseas players in the starting eleven. Nandre Burger and Donovan Ferreira are also part of their impact subs list but Samson confirmed Hetmyer's selection after winning the toss.
"Would like to bowl first looking at the conditions and the wicket," Samson said after winning the toss. "There was dew last night. It's all about the mindset. Really excited to come and play in this fabulous stadium. Great energy here. Looking at what has cricket taught us. When you have bad days, need to have character and confidence. That has been the challenging part - fitness and injuries. Hetty comes back."
Meanwhile, the high-flying RCB made no changes to their winning combination. Glenn Maxwell came into their playing eleven in the absence of unavailable Will Jacks during the last match against CSK and started again in the Eliminator.
"Watching the game last night, there was assistance for the seam bowlers early on," Faf said. "This looks on the drier side with some fake grass on top. We've had that mindset right through. Focussing on your own skills, being true to the way you want to play. Last game against CSK was an unbelievable one. Less is more. People think when you get to the knockout stages, you need to be Superman. It's just showing the boys that you trust them. Same team."
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson.
Rajasthan Royals Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Swapnil Singh, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Himanshu Sharma.
Rajasthan Royals Impact Subs: Shubham Dubey, Donovan Ferreira, Nandre Burger, Shimron Hetmyer, Tanush Kotian.
