• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Ipl 2021 Rcb Vs Rr Ferocious Challengers Face Struggling Samson And Co On Their Winning Trail

IPL 2021 | RCB vs RR: Ferocious Challengers face struggling Samson and Co. on their winning trail

Abhishek Singh

It has been a sensational start for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Vivo IPL 2021 and for the first time they have won their first three matches. However as their caravan moves from Chennai to somewhat familiar territory in Mumbai, they have their first opponents lining up in the form of Rajasthan Royals. Royals have all sorts of problems lined up for them as, after Ben Stokes’ broken hand, Liam Livingstone has returned to England citing bubble fatigue.

Virat Kohli’s side though has no such problem as they are buzzing with confidence. All the players in the team are ready to put their hands up and do the job for the franchise whenever they are in a precarious situation. It is in such contrasting situations that the two teams collide. 

Samson must lead by example

Samson, 26, showed in the very first game how he could be the go-to man with the bat and can lead the side in the field. While his leadership hasn’t been that great in terms of attacking mindset, but it is his inconsistency with the bat which has been a major problem for the Men in Pink. If the Royals are to have any chance of challenging other teams, especially in the absence of Stokes and few others skipper Samson needs to take the charge.  

In the previous eight seasons that he has played, Samson has been very inconsistent. Starting the season on a high, the Keralite has always waned as the seasons progressed. With more than 2700 runs under his kitty in more than 110 matches, Sanju must now take into account the responsibility that has been put on his shoulders. 

Along with Samson, the likes of Jos Buttler, David Miller and Chris Morris,  the senior statesmen of the team need to make sure that Royals are also in a good frame of mind and turn it around for themselves against the best team in the tournament so far. 

Hard to believe, but RCB need not change anything

Virat Kohli’s men have found their mojo with Glenn Maxwell and Ab de Villiers, their two best foreign recruits in top form. Along with it, their death bowling, which used to be the biggest weak link in every season has finally been resolved with Harshal Patel and Kyle Jamieson hitting the right lengths. 

In fact, 24, 27 and 40 have been the number of runs conceded in the last four of their last three games respectively. Patel, 30, has been the pick of the bowlers with nine wickets in three games, including a fifer. Jamieson on the other hand has been brilliant with five scalps as well. It is between these two and Mohammed Siraj that Kohli has found a trio that can sail RCB through death. 

Along with these impactful players, the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar and Devdutt Padikkal become crucial for RCB going ahead as well. Kohli needs to get back to some run-scoring form and the team will continue to do good as the tournament progresses. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals: Match Details

Match Number- 16

Date and Time: April 22, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 02: 00 pm GMT

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch Report

The Pitch at Wankhede has played notoriously in the past two games especially with a dry ball. It offered a huge turn to Chennai Super Kings bowlers while both Rajasthan and Chennai utilised the ball well in the first innings against Delhi Capitals and Punjab respectively. Thus high total games are no more certainty on that wicket. 

Weather and Toss

Intermittent clouds at the time of the game are predicted meaning that the amount of dew would increase. This increased dew would force the captains to go for the chase after winning the toss. 

Team News

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB played with only three overseas in their last games and went with an extra batting cushion of Rajat Patidar. At Wankhede, they wouldn’t be requiring that extra cushion and thus Daniel Sams becomes an obvious choice in the side if he is fully fit. 

Strongest XI

Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Daniel Sams, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Rajasthan Royals

Both Jaydev Unadkat and Shivam Dube haven’t been able to do anything extraordinary for the team so far. Rahul Tewatia and Riyan Parag haven’t been that great either. Thus it is the right time to bring in Kartik Tyagi and Mahipal Lomoror in the mix. Both these players have done well in the limited opportunities presented to them and it will be interesting to see if the team management goes with the duo.

Strongest XI

Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson (c & wk), David Miller, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

Dream XI Predictions / Fantasy XI Suggestions

AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler (wk/vc), Virat Kohli, David Miller, Ryan Parag, Glenn Maxwell (c), Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya 

Discover more

Top Stories
news

Glenn Philips roped in by Gloucestershire for Vitaly T20 Blast

New Zealand international Glenn Philips has signed a deal with Gloucestershire and will represent them for the full duration of the Vitality T20 Blast. The 24-year-old who has been a regular in the national colours in the recent past played all 14 home fixtures for New Zealand which included a stunning 108 of a mere 51 deliveries against the West Indies. Replacing an experienced Ross Taylor, Philips has left a mark in the national colours. As far as Gloucestershire is concerned, Philips can also be a wicket-keeping option if James Bracey has to miss out on some part of the tournament due to national duties. Philips is a perfect three-dimension player who can also chip in with some useful overs with his off-spin. An attacking middle-order batsman, Philips has improved quite significantly while playing against spin which started during his association with the Jamaica Tallwahs in the Caribbean Premier League. It is also reported that he could have been a proper backup option for the IPL franchises in the IPL auctions. Philips will be available for the County Championship that takes place during the vitality Blast. More specifically he will be available for the matches against Middlesex and Hampshire. Philips is a solid long format batsman as well and will look to make a mark in his new venture. Gloucestershire’s interim head coach Ian Harvey said that Philips is an exciting batsman to watch and he is looking forward to his journey with Gloucestershire. "Glenn is very exciting to watch and he's going to add a massive amount to what is already a powerful T20 batting line-up. He can bat at the top of the order, in the middle and also add to our firepower at the end. He's a bit of an all-rounder because he bowls and keeps wicket as well so he will give us plenty of options. "To have someone in your side with the ability to do pretty much everything is a huge bonus and his experience of playing around the world in franchise cricket is going to be a massive benefit for our players. He's played Test match cricket and can keep wicket so he gives us plenty of options if we want to bring him in for red-ball games."

news

ICC bans UAE's Qadeer Ahmed Khan for eight years for breaching anti-corruption code

Qadeer Ahmed Khan of the United Arab Emirates has been barred from all cricket for five years after admitting to breaching six codes of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in October 2019. The governing body of the game however has imposed a retrospective ban on Khan that will be counted from October 16, 2019 when he was first charged for the breaches. Khan has accepted the charges of breaching article 2.4.4, 2.3.2, 2.4.5, 2.4.6, 2.4.7 of the anti corruption code. The General Manager of the ICC ‘s Integrity Unit, Alex Marshall, said that Khan being an international cricket who has been through anti-corruption training should have been more vigilant about coming in contact with corrupt people and also should have reported as soon as possible after being aware of the situation. “Qadeer Khan is an experienced international cricketer who has received anti-corruption training. He should have avoided the people he knew were corrupt and reported any suspicions immediately. He has accepted he did wrong and requested an agreed sanction in place of a Tribunal. His five-year period of ineligibility is a reflection of the seriousness of his breaches and the number of charges,” Marshall said in a statement. Notably, earlier this month, the ICC had also banned United Arab Emirates (UAE) players Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar Butt for eight years each after the ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found them guilty of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

news

Salil Ankola distances himself from banned CIC members for interference claims

Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Chairman of the selection committee, Salil Ankola has distanced himself from two of the sacked members of MCA’s Improvement Committee (CIC) Lalchand Rajput and Raju Kulkarni. They had earlier claimed to the MCA ombudsman that the selectors were ready to justification and testify in their favour. As per reports it os learnt that Rajput questioned the fact that the secretaries had interfered in CIC matters and included players in the XI without the approval of the selectors. Salil Ankola, the current MCA selection committee head who is a former cricketer and an actor stated that neither Rajput nor Kulkarni had spoken with him in this regard and he is not ready to testify in front of Ombudsman Justice Vijaya Tahiliramani. “This is to inform about the recent series of allegations made by the Cricket Improvement Committee on ‘interference of secretaries in the selection process. There have been recent media reports on Mr Lalchand Rajput and Mr Raju Kulkarni stating that ‘selectors’ are willing to testify for the interference to the MCA Ombudsman,” Ankola was quoted as saying during an official statement. “I, as a chairman of the selection committee for Mumbai Cricket Association, would like to place it on record that I have never spoken to Rajput on the above issue. Neither I have given any consent to testify in front of anyone. As a chairman of the selection committee, I have been transparent and always kept Mumbai’s interest above anything else.” Meanwhile, it must be noted that Ankola’s statement has come after both Rajput and Kulkarni submitted a petition to the MCA ombudsman contesting their removal from CIC. “Selectors are willing to testify for the interference: e.g. inclusion of 2 players in 20 selected by senior team selectors for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 (SMAT) after BCCI allowed 22 players due to Covid, instead of 20. The same 2 players were included in the playing 11 in the SMAT in some matches. Also, a left-arm bowler who was not in the original 20, who was a number 11 batsman, was made to open the innings in the SMAT,” the petition says.