Follow UsIt’s a good time to be an RCBian, be it the fans or the players. All the pain endured over the past seasons seems to be finally paying off. It has been a slow recovery. Royal Challengers Bangalore qualified in the previous two seasons as well but were knocked out in the Eliminator. They have crossed that hurdle now, beating Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs, booking a place in the Qualifier 2, only one step away from their fourth final. This is their best season since 2016.
They are up against a side who are also undergoing their best season in a long time. In Rajasthan Royals’ case, it is since 2013 when they were last part of the Qualifier 2.
Form wise, the two teams are on different tangents. Rajasthan won six of their first eight games which secured them a spot in the top two despite a 50-50 record in their last six league games. Bangalore, on the other hand, have won four of their last five matches following a mid-season jitter.
However, the way this tournament has proceeded, the recent form hardly gives you a peek into the outcome of this match. It has been a tournament against the odds where three teams with 11 titles between them were the first sides to get knocked out. Now, two sides will give their everything to get the most out of their best season in a long time that almost feels like an eternity.
Subpar second half for the Royals
There has been a slight dip in the returns from the top Rajasthan players in the second half of the season. Prasidh Krishna presents the perfect case. In the first half, he delivered some brilliant death overs including a wicket-maiden in the 19th over of Delhi’s failed run chase. In his last game, however, Krishna was smacked for three sixes in the final over with only 16 runs to defend.
Overall, he has picked only five wickets in the last seven games while conceding at 9 runs per over. In the first eight games, he had 10 wickets at an economy of 7.8. Yuzvendra Chahal, Rajasthan’s prime wicket-taker, has eight wickets in the last eight games after picking 18 in the first seven.
With the bat, Shimron Hetmyer is a concern. A vital cog in Rajasthan’s batting, his average and strike-rate has come down to 26 and 120 in the last seven games (from 74.3 and 180 in the first six matches).
Last but not the least, Jos Buttler’s average has crashed down to 28.4 in the last eight matches from 81.8. The dip in strike-rate is from 162 to 126. The average of 28.4 was boosted by his 89 in Qualifier 1 against Gujarat. Although it was a top-notch innings, Buttler was slow off the blocks. Rajasthan will hope the innings will set him up for a more impactful contribution in Qualifier 2.
Patidar, the aggressor
The 28-year old and uncapped batter, Rajat Patidar has been the unlikely aggressor in Bangalore’s top-order. Like Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis, he takes his time initially but is a lot more efficient in pressing the accelerator. In the 11 to 30 balls of all his innings this season, Patidar has a strike-rate of 184.1 as compared to Virat Kohli’s 114.9 and du Plessis’ 125.8.
In the Eliminator, he kept the innings afloat when the contribution from the star batters, Kohli, du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell read only 34 off 35 balls.
Patidar has been excellent against spin striking at 177 while averaging 44. These numbers make him the perfect candidate to counter Rajasthan’s spin duo - Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin. Glenn Maxwell has not played those match-defining knocks like his previous IPL season but has a strike-rate of 179.
Hence, Patidar’s wild card entry, after he was unsold at the auction, has taken the pressure off Maxwell as the only spin basher in Bangalore’s line-up. It also frames an interesting battle in the middle-phase of Bangalore’s innings. After all, Rajasthan have been highly productive with spin.
PS: Maxwell has scored 115 runs off 55 balls against Ashwin for two dismissals. Against Chahal, he has been dismissed five times for 120 runs off 70 balls.
Probable XIs
Rajasthan Royals
The Rajasthan side have constantly made one of two changes around the same spot based on conditions and their opposition. Considering the game will be played at a new venue - Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi stadium - a few changes might be on cards. Obed McCoy is the only candidate to be replaced in that case.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Mohammad Siraj has been the only weak link in what otherwise is Bangalore’s best XI. Despite a new venue, they might continue with the same XI.
Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammad Siraj