Rajasthan Royals (RR) have struggled with their top order since the start of the season. Although their struggles haven’t been absolute, as some of their top order batters found opportunities to fire in every game, the collective impact has very often betrayed them. A similar thing happened to them in their recent game against Gujarat Titans (GT). Sanju Samson scored 41 runs off 28 balls but could not get any help from the rest of the batters.
They returned to their home venue, which is not exactly a familiar arena for them this season. Having played all their home games in Guwahati, they embrace Jaipur as their home turf now.
RR have a 50% win percentage here in 10 matches, which isn’t exactly a sufficient sample size, but RCB’s spectacular away record this season might make them eager to cash in on Rajasthan’s shortcomings at this venue. RCB have won three of their five games, all on the road. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they look more at home in Jaipur than Rajasthan.
Team Overview:
RR’s top five have averaged 26.45 this season. The Royals have won only two games so far, both coming when their top four accumulated more than a hundred run. This not only points towards the erratic nature of their top order batters but also heralds how the middle order is not up to the par in absorbing the pressure in case of a collapse.
Among their wicket-taking bowlers, no one has a bowling average less than 30, barring Wanindu Hasaranga, who will be available to be selected for this game, and Tushar Deshpande. Jofra Archer seems to have found his momentum back, at least to some extent, but RR would want him to be more proactive and attacking.
It’s so far, so good for the RCB, primarily because their batters are chipping in with just what they want. Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, and Phil Salt haven’t taken on the main job on their own, but have been crucial in giving the protagonist Virat Kohli company. Tim David and Jitesh Sharma take care of the late-innings, quick-fire cameos for the side. Liam Livingstone, at this point, seems to be the only weak link in their batting lineup. Bengaluru might look to replace him with Jacob Bethell for this game.
Head-to-Head Matches:
Both teams have been exceedingly competitive against one another in the past. In 31 matches they have crossed swords, RCB have 15 wins, while RR have 14. Two games ended without any result.
Weather and Pitch Report:
This is Jaipur’s first game this season, and also a day-game. The city experiences temperatures in late 30 degrees celsius, making it rather hot during the day. This could make the pitch a perfect place for spinners to hold sway. However, Rajasthan might look to tweak that since they do not have a reliable, frontline Indian spinner to make the most of a dry pitch. Last seven IPL games here have seen at least one team scoring more than 150 runs, though none of those were day games.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
