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IPL 2021 | RR vs RCB: It’s now or never for Rajasthan as they fight batting demons against Challengers

Abhishek Singh

After the first match in the UAE, in which Kartik Tyagi bowled a brilliant final over to win the game for Rajasthan Royals, the Jaipur-based franchise has not been able to sync themselves. They have lost two on the trot to put themselves on the verge of getting out of the Playoffs race if they lose their next match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bangalore on the other end have bounced back from two defeats and beat Mumbai Indians in their last game to get loser to Playoffs qualification with 12 points from 10 games. 

Parag-Tewatia must find form

If the Rajasthan side wants to get back to winning ways, it must either get away from at least one of the two among Rahul Tewatia and Ryan Parag, especially now that they have a batting all-rounder in Mahipal Lomror who has performed well in the last three games. 

By removing either of them, the Royals could bring in a specialist spinner, a department where they are found wanting, in the spinning conditions of UAE. Although they have Tabraiz Shamsi as a wrist spinner, with only one specialist spinner, they are lagging behind and it is pretty clear. Considering the form of both Parag and Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal definitely deserves a chance. 

Shivam Dube can be tried as well in place of either of the players considering he can bat really well and can bowl in tough situations too. 

Whatever might the selection be, but both non-performing assets in Parag and Tewatia can’t be played together. 

Challengers need consistency

The RCB did well to win by a huge margin against Mumbai. But their major problem of being unable to score quickly post the powerplay with AB de Villiers out of form still persists. Their last match was basically won by the bowling brilliance of Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel and Glenn Maxwell. 

Thus, the team from Bangalore is still are suffering from their inconsistent returns with the bat and skipper Virat Kohli and opener Devdutt Padikkal need to step in and sort this out. De Villiers getting in form would be another improvement. 

Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore: Details

Match number: 43

Date and Time: Sept 29, 2021, 07:30 pm IST (10:00 GMT), 06:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch Report

The pitches throughout UAE haven’t really been supportive of batting as it was the last time around in 2020. The squares have dried up with a lot of cricket having been already played. Thus in this game also, any score around and above 150-160 would be par. 

Weather Forecast

The temperatures would be in the mid-thirties and humidity would keep on increasing as the match progresses. There might be dew later on and thus, any team winning the toss would look to bowl first. 

Team News

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan would look to bring in Shreyas Gopal in place of Tewatia. Even Shivam Dube can be tested in place of Parag so that two fresh players come in with a fresh approach and try and win the game. With Kartik Tyagi fit and ready to go, he would replace Unadkat. 

Probable XI

Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB wouldn’t be looking to make any changes in the playing XI as they have finally landed a victory. 

Probable XI

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

CE XI Fantasy team

Wicketkeepers Srikar Bharat, Sanju Samson

Batters Virat Kohli, Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror

All-rounders Chris Morris, Glenn Maxwell

Bowlers Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

Vice-Captain Glenn Maxwell

Captain Sanju Samson 

Discover more

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