FANTASY
Follow UsNOTE: All stats updated till 20 April 2021
Having won all three matches of their Chennai leg, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) move on to Mumbai where they take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 16 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. RR, who have played all their three matches at the Wankhede Stadium so far, have won just one of their matches.
It’s all even-steven between the two sides in IPL, with each notching up 10 victories apiece. Even in the last five matches, both RR and RCB have won two games each with one game being washed out. However, RCB won both their matches over RR in IPL 2020.
IPL HEAD-TO-HEAD
Overall - Matches – 22 | RCB – 10 Wins | RR – 10 Wins | NR – 2
Last five games – RCB – 2 Wins | RR – 1 Wins | NR – 1
Suggested Teams
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms, we have come up with one team.
Ground Details
We could be in for yet another high-scoring game at the Wankhede, considering that the ball will come on to the bat much better than it has in Chennai. The batsmen have scored at a run-rate of 8.7 here, with wickets falling once every 28.8 runs and 19.9 balls apart.
The competition between the pacers and spinners here has been a one-sided affair with the former accounting for nearly 86% of the wickets. They’ve struck every 17.1 deliveries, 25 runs apart, while the corresponding numbers for spinners are 36.6 and 51.9 respectively.
With pacers set to rule the roost, it would be ideal to stock your team with them and maybe add one or two quality spinners in the mix as well, which is something both teams are not short of.
There could be a few interesting match-ups too.
Glenn Maxwell has been dismissed by Chris Morris on three occasions in T20 cricket, but the last such instance was back in 2016. Since then, Maxwell has scored 31 at a strike-rate of 135 against Morris. It will be interesting to see how two players, on whom huge bucks have been splashed on this season, go when pitted against each other.
The contest between Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal is a one-sided one massively in favour of the leg-spinner. Chahal has dismissed the RR captain five times in nine innings, including thrice out of the last four encounters. Samson’s average of eight and strike-rate well under 100 against RCB’s premier spinner further drives home the point of his struggles. It will be interesting to see if Chahal is introduced against Samson straight away in this match.
Captain Selection
With scores of 39, 59 and 78 in the three IPL 2021 innings so far, Glenn Maxwell should be a front-runner to lead your fantasy side. He has already scored more runs this season (176), than he did all of last season (108). Maxwell seems to have regained his last confidence and with a clear role in the team, he is now truly showcasing how dangerous he can be with the bat. The fact that he could pick up a wicket or two is an added bonus.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Maxwell could score 16-25 runs and pick up 0-1 wickets in this match.
X-Factors
With nine wickets in three matches, Harshal Patel is currently the Purple Cap holder. He started off with a fifer against Mumbai Indians and then picked up two wickets each against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. Harshal’s role is to bowl at the death – a responsibility he has taken to brilliantly – and do not discount him from adding more wickets to his tally in this game.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Harshal could pick up 1-2 wickets in this match.
Jos Buttler managed just 27 runs from his two IPL 2021 innings, but in the third, he smashed his way to a 35-ball 49. Buttler’s form has been under the radar in the recent past, but he responded to that with a brilliant knock in Mumbai in the previous game and he will look to build on that here.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Buttler could score 16-25 runs in this match.
The IPL 2021 has seen many uncapped Indian quicks rub shoulders with the international stars and put in top-notch performances. One such example is Rajasthan’s left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya, who from a humble background has risen to the high standards of IPL. Sakariya has picked up six wickets from three matches so far, including a couple of three-wicket hauls, carrying on his excellent form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy into the IPL.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Sakariya could pick up 0-1 wickets in this match.