IPL 2021 : RCB V RR Match Preview & Probable XIs

RCB V RR – HEAD TO HEAD : 22 MATCHES

RCB WON : 10, RR WON : 10, NO RESULT : 2

This year already looks different for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. They are the only unbeaten team in the tournament as of now. They take on Rajasthan Royals in their next fixture on Thursday, 22^nd April in Mumbai. Rajasthan have only won one of their three matches.

RCB racked up 204 runs on a sluggish Chennai track in their previous match against the KKR. Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers took apart the KKR’s bowling attack with their range of shots on both sides of the wicket. Chasing more than 200 runs was never going to be easy and KKR fell short by 38 runs.

RCB’s new recruits have been in superb touch and are one of the main reasons for their success. Glenn Maxwell has scored the most number of runs for RCB till now and this has reduced the burden from the shoulders of Kohli and de Villiers. He’s looking in ominous form at No.3 and RCB would want him to continue the same way. Harshal Patel’s inclusion in the side has done wonders for RCB. He has been brilliant at the death, having picked 9 wickets in 3 matches.

RR faced a heavy defeat at the hands of CSK. Their batsmen never looked settled against the Chennai bowlers and as a result could only make 143 runs chasing a total of 189 runs. Royals’ captain Sanju Samson had a rollicking start to the tournament but hasn’t been able to get off to good starts in the next two matches. He would look to be more consistent and watchful with his shot selection. Jos Buttler has looked good but has failed to convert starts into big scores. Both Samson and Buttler need to fire in unison to hand RR a better chance at winning games. The young left arm seamer Chetan Sakariya has been one of the biggest positives for the Royals. He has been accurate with the bowl and has picked up 6 wickets in 3 matches. RR would expect him to get better as the season progresses.

It is expected to be another batting beauty at the Wankhede stadium. It could rain sixes given the firepower both the teams possess. AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell will hit it big. Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler will try to negate that for RR.

RCB are likely to stick with the winning combination. RR could bring in leg spinner Shreyas Gopal. He has had great success against both Kohli and de Villiers. He could come into the side at the expense of Jaydev Unadkat.

Probable XIs :

RCB :  Virat Kohli (C), Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Kane Williamson, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

RR :  Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson (C), Shivam Dube, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman