Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs in the Eliminator, courtesy of a sensational century from Rajat Patidar and some brilliant death bowling from Harshal Patel.

RCB finished the group stage at the 4th spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 points table with 8 wins and 6 losses from their 14 matches in the league.

Faf du Plessis is the top run-scorer for Royal Challengers Bangalore with 443 runs at a strike rate of 130. He has struck 46 fours and 13 sixes. Dinesh Karthik has also made 324 runs at a strike rate of 187.

Wanindu Hasaranga has been the best bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore and has picked up 25 wickets while bowling at an average of 16 and an economy rate of 7.62.

Rajasthan Royals lost to Gujarat Titans by 7 wickets in Qualifier 1 despite the best efforts of Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson.

RR finished the group stage at the 2nd spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 points table with 9 wins and 5 losses from their 14 matches in the league.

Jos Buttler is the top run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals with 718 runs at a strike rate of 148. He has struck 68 fours and 39 sixes. Sanju Samson has also made 421 runs at a strike rate of 150.

Yuzvendra Chahal has been the best bowler for Rajasthan Royals and has picked up 26 wickets while bowling at an average of 17 and an economy rate of 7.70.

TEAMS PREVIEW

RAJASTHAN ROYALS PREVIEW

Sanju Samson would be worried about the form of his bowlers going into this game. They bowled extremely poorly against the Gujarat Titans in the 1st Qualifier to lose the game by 7 wickets. Their record against the Royal Challengers hasn’t been good in the last three seasons and Sampson would be looking for a spirited show from his team to take them to the finals for the first time since 2008. 

Jos Buttler returned to form and played a brilliant knock in the last game and he will look to set up a good opening wicket stand again with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Sampson, Devdutt Padikkal, and Shimron Hetmyer are also looking good, and the side would need important knocks from them to win this game. Down the order, Ravichandran Ashwin has already shown his hitting abilities and he will look to add quick runs along with Riyan Parag. 

It was a miserable effort from their entire bowling attack in the last game and they will have to come up with a better show as they take on a strong batting side. Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna must get their acts together with the new ball. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ashwin will have to combine well and use the conditions as RCB showed their batting prowess in the last game. Obed McCoy will need to come up with better lines in this game and justify his selection in the team. 

Top Batsman – Jos Buttler   
Top Bowler – Yuzvendra Chahal

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE PREVIEW

Faf du Plessis’ side produced one of its best performances of the season in their last game against the Lucknow Super Giants to win it by 14 runs. They batted well and held their nerves in the final overs to knock LSG out of the tournament. It will be a bigger challenge against Rajasthan who have looked brilliant this year and du Plessis would want his players to take confidence from their good record against Rajasthan. 

Virat Kohli’s strike rate is a concern and he will have to provide an electrifying start in this game along with du Plessis. Rajat Patidar proved his power-hitting abilities in the last game with that brilliant hundred and he would need support from Glenn Maxwell and Mahipal Lomror. Maxwell will have to prove his worth as he has been inconsistent. Dinesh Karthik has been in the form of his life and must add quick runs with Wanindu Hasaranga and Shahbaz Ahmed.

Josh Hazlewood and Mohammad Siraj went for runs in the last game and they can’t afford the same against the RR who have good firepower at the top. Harshal Patel bowled brilliantly at the death, and this would add to the side’s confidence. Hasaranga wasn’t at his best in the last game but he has been the most successful bowler and he has an important role here with Ahmed and Maxwell in the middle overs. 

Top Batsman – Faf du Plessis   
Top Bowler – Wanindu Hasaranga

MATCH DETAILS:

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Date & Time: May 27, 7:30 PM

PITCH REPORT

The pitch at Narendra Modi Stadium is expected to provide an equal contest between bat and ball. The stadium has both red and black soil pitches and it will be interesting to see on which strip the match will be played. The skipper winning the toss might want to bat second to assess the pitch and conditions better before batting.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

May 27 would see a hot and humid evening in Ahmedabad and we expect the track to be a  belter where there would be little for the bowlers. The ball would hit the bat hard creating run-scoring opportunities for the batsmen. The side batting first would like to have 180 runs on the board to win this game. 

TOSS: TO BOWL

Most teams have preferred to chase scores here as the flat surface makes it a challenge to set up a score at this venue. It will be a high-pressure contest and none of the sides would like to take a chance. The team that wins the toss in this game is likely to opt for bowling first in the game.

PROBABLE PLAYING XI FOR RR VS RCB

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj.

PROBABLE TOP PERFORMERS

PROBABLE BEST BATTER OF THE MATCH: JOS BUTTLER

Sitting right at the top of most runs list, England and RR batter Jos Buttler will want to play an impactful inning in the Qualifier 2 match. The right-handed batter has stroked 718 runs so far and will want to make his team qualify for the final match of the tournament.

PROBABLE BEST BOWLER OF THE MATCH: YUZVENDRA CHAHAL

The Purple Cap holder in IPL 2022, Yuzvendra Chahal will be playing against his former franchise once again and will want to provide vital breakthroughs to his new franchise RR. The leg-spinner has scalped a total of 26 wickets so far and will want to add a few more in his column.

RR VS RCB

WINNING PREDICTION

It will be a close contest as both the side pack punch with the bat. RCB has done well despite a lack of form for its two main batsmen, Kohli and Maxwell, and they will have to deliver the goods in this game for the side to win. The Rajasthan Royals have been a batting powerhouse and they have had their spinners do well. The conditions at this venue would suit the spinners and our money would be on the Rajasthan Royals to win this game.

Rajasthan Royals to win!