Royal Challengers Bangalore will be playing for pride when they meet the Rajasthan Royals in the 49th match of Vivo IPL tomorrow at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Bangalore after losing their first 6 matches made a sort of a comeback after winning 4 of their next 5 games. However, after losing their last game against the Delhi Capitals, their hopes have been dashed and they can no longer make it to the playoffs.
Like the last year, it has been a horrendous season for RCB as yet again they have failed to gel as a unit. Their campaign almost came to an end after losing their first 6 games. However, the inclusion of Dale Steyn worked wonders for Bangalore. However, he had to leave owing to a shoulder injury and Bangalore came under the scanner yet again.
RB have played some good cricket in patches but it has been their lack of consistency which has thrown them out of the tournament with two more matches left for them in the tourney. The likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers has been the pillars for Bangalore for a long time but hasn’t managed to get their team to the playoffs.
The bowling department has proved to be the main drawback for Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore as the pacers have leaked runs at crucial junctures of the game which has never really allowed RCB to pose a serious challenge in the tournament. The spin bowling department led by Yuzvendra Chahal has also not managed to perform consistently which has resulted in RCB being at the bottom of the points table.
Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, are still in with a shout to qualify for the playoffs if they manage to win the remaining two games. However in that case too, the net run rate will come into factor. Hence Rajasthan Royals need to win by a big margin in order to make it through to the final 4. The change of captaincy has worked wonders for Rajasthan.
Steve Smith has led his troops brilliantly and it has also benefitted Ajinkya Rahane who has looked in supreme touch ever since being sacked as the skipper of RR. The middle order has some able players but RR will surely miss the services of English players Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer who could have been the match winners for RR in the final two group matches.
The form of Shreyas Gopal has also been a plus point for Rajasthan Royals. He has bowled brilliantly and has troubled opposition batters in all the surfaces. He has also provided some important runs in the lower order. Meanwhile, the emergence of 17-year-old Riyan Parag has been the success story of the tournament so far.
Date and Venue:
The match will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on 30th April 2019, Tuesday from 8 pm.
Head to head:
Matches Played: 20, Rajasthan Royals- 10, Royal Challengers Bangalore- 8, No Result- 2
Predicted XI’s
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, AB de Villiers, Heinrich Klaasen, Gurkeerat Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Tim Southee, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal
Rajasthan Royals
Ajinkya Rahane, Liam Livingstone, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Ashton Turner, Riyan Parag, Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Oshane Thomas, Varun Aaron
Pitch Conditions
The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is always expected to be a high scoring venue. Bangalore has been a terror for the bowlers as they have gone for plenty in the past years. A score of 190-200 in a typical Bangalore wicket is par for the course. In an inconsequential clash, Bangalore will surely look to salvage some pride in their last home game of the tournament. All in all, it is expected to be another high scoring clash in the tournament. The team batting first will surely look to score 200+.
Weather Conditions
The temperature is expected to be on the lower side considering this is a summer month in India. During the match time, the temperature is expected to hover around 22 to 25 degrees with an outside chance of rain. However, both teams will be hopeful of playing a full 40 overs match.
Match Prediction
Royal Challengers Bangalore has already been knocked out of the tournament but Rajasthan still has an outside chance of going through to the final four. Rajasthan should produce their A game today and look to keep their slim chances alive in the tournament. I will also go with Rajasthan Royals to win the 49th match of the tournament.