Royal Challengers Take on Rajasthan Royals; Preview & Predictions

Royal challengers Bangalore & Rajasthan Royals will square off against each other in the 43^rd match of Vivo IPL 2021.

Both RCB and RR are getting under groove with balanced victories in the UAE leg of IPL. While inching slowly towards playoffs both the teams will fight for victory in today’s game, as there are only four games left for both the teams each.

A major encumbrance for RR has been their misfiring middle order with Sanju Samson forced to carry the weight of it. In the last two matches, Samson has scored successive half-centuries with little support at the other end, which have resulted in RR falling short on runs. While the pacers made the most of the conditions by cutting back on the pace, the batsmen struggled on the sticky wickets.

RCB will be happy with Maxwell's all-round outing in the last game in Dubai. He scored 56 and returned two wickets in their big win. Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli have been solid at the top, providing RCB with strong starts. They will hope for Daniel Christian to come into his own and deliver with his all-round skills.

Pitch Report: Dubai has been a good batting venue despite having something in it for the pacers. But it's about targeting the shorter boundary, like seen with Maxwell in RCB's previous clash against Mumbai Indians. It's an evening game so will be comparatively cooler.

Predicted Playing XI:

Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris/Tabraiz Shamsi, Chetan Sakariya, Jaydev Unadkat/Sheyas Gopal, Mustafizur Rahman

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Daniel Christian, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal