Rajasthan Royals aim to pile more misery on RCB’s sagging fortunes

Rajasthan Royals (RR) are not the fanciest team in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They encompass a side that win games frequently, but they are not as celebrated as some other franchises are. That’s partly because of how their brand profile is – slipping under the radar – but in the larger context, teams would hardly make the mistake of taking them lightly.

By winning three out of three games, that too in a pretty comfortable manner, the Royals have left an impression that would be hard to overcome for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who have lost three out of the four games in the season so far, as both sides lock horns on April 6, 2024 (Saturday) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. 

RCB have found wanting in all regards - their batters out of form and their bowlers devoid of any executional guidelines. But they would want to change the script change after leaving their home base of Chinnaswamy to start afresh in Jaipur.

If anything, the Faf du Plessis-led side can take inspiration from what John Major once said, “When your back is against the wall, there is only one thing to do, and that is turn around and fight.” It is up to them to swim or sink from hereon.

RR vs RCB Head-to-Head

Overall -  Games 29 | RR 12 | RCB 15

At Sawai Mansingh Stadium - Games 8 | RR 4 | RCB 4

Venue and Condition Details

Teams chose to bat first in five of the seven games played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur since IPL 2023. 

Teams batting first have won five of the seven matches played here since last season, including the two matches played here this season. Rajasthan Royals defended the totals in both the matches played here in IPL 2024, so farhot.

The average first innings score at the venue is 177 whereas the average first innings winning score is 181 since IPL 2023. Spinners have taken wickets at a slightly better rate than pacers at this venue since IPL 2023.

RR have had a 64.8% win percentage at home which is the second-highest for a team at home. RCB have won four and lost as many matches played at this venue.

Weather Forecast

Jaipur is smoking hot at the moment, with the highest temperature on Saturday slated to be around 36 degrees. There is no probability of thunderstorms with a cloud cover of 37%. 

Things to watch out for

Can RR openers stand up?

For the last three seasons, most of Rajasthan Royals’ success was scripted by Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal up top, as they have had an opening strike rate of 146 which is the third-highest strike rate among the openers in IPL since 2020. However, come 2024, things have taken a turn for the worse for the franchise as they stitched together partnerships worth 10, 9, and 13 in the last three games. 

Buttler, in particular, failed to step up with the bat, scoring just 35 runs at an average of 11.8. Buttler has struggled to keep his wickets intact against right-arm pacers, as 10 of his 16 dismissals have come against them since IPL 2023. The England batter will face a challenge from RCB right-arm pacers Mohammed Siraj, Alzarri Joseph, and Vyashak Vijaykumar.

Things haven’t been very rosy for Jaiswal either. Coming straight from a memorable series against England, Jaiswal has just managed 39 runs in three innings this IPL. However, only a fool would write him off - for the kind of season he had in 2023. It’s just a matter of time.

RCB batters need to compliment Virat Kohli

Glenn Maxwell is yet to hit the double-digit mark in four games. Faf du Plessis is averaging just 16.3. Rajat Patidar has just managed 50 runs in total. All in all, RCB’s batting order, sans Virat Kohli, has been in dire straits. More accurately, Kohli has contributed 32.5% of overall team runs in the last four games. This over-dependence on Kohli has been a real cause of concern for a franchise, who were dependent on their batters for a decent season.

While Dinesh Karthik has been decent with the bat alongside Mahipal Lomror, who has managed to ace his role as an impact player, others really need to put a strong foot forward in order to help RCB have a decent season. This also extends to their bowlers, who have been devoid of any plans and only resorted to short-ball ploys to save themselves.

Probable XIs

RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal

RCB: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat (wk), Mayank Dagar, Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal

Telecast and Streaming Details

The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7.30 PM, with the toss happening at 7:00 PM.

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