Fight between the Royals i.e. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Bengaluru finished 4th in the points table with 14 points while Rajasthan claimed the 3rd place with 16 points.
These two teams when met against each other in this season, then Virat Kohli and Jos Butler registered centuries from respective sides but Butler’s century guided the team to a clean victory.
Teams Analysis:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) squad analysis:
No one ever thought that they would be able to qualify for the Playoffs after losing 6 matches back to back, but their determination was clear and then in the next 6 matches they were undefeated and pulled up a great show in the history of IPL after the qualification.
Faf du Plessis © –
The leader of the team has shown tremendous patience in the last match against CSK which was a do or die for both the teams, where he scored a brilliant half-century and took a brilliant catch of Mitchell Santner. His presence of mind due to which the team is able to reach the next round.
Till now he scored 421 runs with a strike rate of 163.81 and has scored 4 fifties to his name. His best is 64 runs in this season and that came against GT.
Virat Kohli –
The most experienced man in this squad has shown perfect guidance to the team with his batting. He has scored 708 runs with an average of 64.36. He is the leading runs scorer this season and has the orange cap to his name. None of the other batters in this has crossed the 600 mark, therefore he is maintaining quite a long distance.
He has one century and five half-centuries to his name and has a strike rate of 155.60. In the past few matches, he looked more aggressive with his batting than before. The century he scored came against RR.
Rajat Patidar –
This man has batted really well in the middle overs and took his team to some great scores. At the start of the season he looked in little discomfort as runs were not coming fluently but after the mid season he became more lethal and with 5 half-centuries he scored 361 runs. In his last 5 innings he got past 50+ thrice and has a strike rate of 179.60.
Glenn Maxwell –
This destructive batter failed to perform with his batting as he only managed 52 runs in 8 innings and the best is 28 runs. His strike rate also dipped to 123.81. But he impressed with his bowling as he took 6 wickets with an economy of just above 8 (8.06). Though in this crucial match, the team is expecting some big things from him in the batting department.
Dinesh Karthik (wk) –
One of the few players who is playing this tournament from the starting and in this season he delivered very well with his experience. He has taken the responsibility in the death overs very well and has managed 315 runs in 12 innings with a strike rate of 195.65 and is the best among the batters in the team. He has scored 2 half-centuries till now.
Cameron Green –
This Aussie has shown a lot of improvement in the last few matches. He has some advantages in the bowling and was lacking in the batting at the start of the season. But in the last three matches he provided valuable contribution with the bat as he scored 46, 32* and 38*. He has grabbed 9 wickets till now.
Mahipal Lomror –
The 24-year uncapped Indian player has batted with destruction whenever he came to bat in lower down the order and has the strike rate of 182.35. Though he didn’t get many chances to bat, he can certainly boost up the run-rate.
Swapnil Singh –
After his addition to the team, it strengthened the bowling department and more specifically in the spin department. He is a brilliant wicket taking option for the team and can also contribute some healthy runs with the bat in the death overs. He has taken 6 wickets in 6 matches with an economy of 8.77.
Yash Dayal –
He is the leading wicket-taker of the team with 15 wickets to his name and more importantly his spell against CSK in the last match was the match winning spell. Not only he got the wicket of MS Dhoni but also restricted Ravindra Jadeja to get the qualification runs. At the start of the season he was quite expensive in his spells but as the time passed he improved his line and length and is now the main pacer of the team.
Mohammad Siraj –
The experienced bowler in the team has taken 13 wickets till now. At the start of the season he was also struggling with his rhythm but after the mid season he showed the improvement in his line and length and got the reward in terms of wicket. Not only is he getting wickets but also got some better spells in comparison to the starting ones.
Karn Sharma –
The other spinner of the team has 6 wickets to his name but the economy being higher which is 10.68. He can also bat well lower down the order and his performance against KKR where he scored 20 runs in 7 balls and almost took RCB to the victory line but missed in the last stance.
Lockie Ferguson –
In his 6 matches he claimed 8 wickets till now with an economy of 10.9.
Probable Playing 11 of RCB in Eliminator:
Faf du Plessis ©, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Mahipal Lomror, Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammad Siraj.
Impact Player: Yash Dayal.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) squad analysis:
They started the season with a full domination in both the departments. But in the last 5 matches, they lost 4 back to back and the last match against KKR was washed off due to rain. This needs special attention as they lost the winning rhythm. Batting though looks little better but they bowling needs to be much more disciplined. Due to their excellent performance in the first half of the season they got the Playoffs seat.
Sanju Samson (c & wk) –
The leader of the team has been in excellent touch with the bat and has managed 504 runs in 12 innings. He has a strike rate of 156.52 in which five half-centuries were included. His average in this season is 56. He is known for his conversion of knocks well but he lacks the consistency which he showed at the start of this season.
Still he has a lot of caliber to show and has been aggressive highly if gets to stick for 25+ balls.
Yashasvi Jaiswal –
The left handed opener of the team has scored 348 runs in 13 innings with a strike rate of 152.63. He has managed one century and one half-century to his name. But in the last three innings he only managed 4, 24 and 4. He needs to maintain his consistency with the bat as he was seen struggling at the start and at the end of the season.
Riyan Parag –
His promotion in the batting order has helped him a lot and in this season he is currently the most runs scorer with 531 runs to his credit. He has scored four fifties this season with an average of 59 and has a strike rate of 152.59. At the start of the season, he was in fantastic form but in the mid he struggled a little after some matches he got his rhythm back and scored some healthy runs.
Dhruv Jurel –
Jurel has not been much consistent with the bat this season. Though he didn’t get much chance to bat but still he faced some struggle in the death overs. With a strike rate of 133.67, he scored only 131 runs in 9 innings. He only got one half-century to his name and that came against LSG where he scored unbeaten 52 runs.
Shimron Hetmyer –
He also didn’t get many chances to bat and has only scored 83 runs with a strike rate of 184.44. In the match against PBKS he played a match winning knock of 27 runs in 10 balls and clinched the victory from their mouth.
Rovman Powell –
The other Caribbean player in the team has been little on and off throughout the season. In his 5 innings he scored 81 runs with a strike rate of 168.75.
Ravichandran Ashwin –
One of the most successful bowlers in the history of IPL, has taken just 7 wickets in 12 innings with an economy of 8.62. He is not able to show the consistency in his bowling and was mostly expensive in his spell. With the bat he got 86 runs and the best was 29 runs.
Yuzvendra Chahal –
He is currently the leading wicket-taker of the team with 17 wickets to his name. But his economy is tending towards the higher side which is 9.38 and this needs to be controlled as he is the one who can create pressure in the middle overs. Though he is consistent with his wicket grabbing ability, he needs little work on his economy.
Trent Boult –
He has 12 wickets to his name in this season. He has taken the most wickets in the first over which gives a little advantage if he gets the wickets of Kohli. Though he needs little more consistency in the death overs as his economy surges to 8.43.
Avesh Khan –
He is currently the leading wicket-taker in the pace department with 13 wickets to his name. Though he needs to be more disciplined in the death overs as his economy is pretty much high and has 9.72 this season. Although sometimes he bowled some great overs in the middle.
Sandeep Sharma –
He is that guy of the team who delivers the wickets when the team needed the most. He is well known for being a partnership breaker and with this he has taken 10 wickets till now.
Probable Playing 11 of RR in Eliminator:
Sanju Samson (c/wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Nandre Burger.
Impact Player: Sandeep Sharma.
Head to Head (RCB vs RR) in IPL:
They played 31 matches against each other in the IPL so far. Out of those 3 matches ended in a no result.
| RCB | RR | |
| won | 15 | 13 |
| Highest score | 200 | 217 |
| Lowest score | 70 | 58 |
Pitch Report of RR vs RCB in Eliminator:
This match will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. This pitch didn’t witness many high scoring matches except the match between GT and RCB where both the teams got 200 runs. A well balanced pitch in which both the side will get benefit but batters will avail more favour as the ball will come to the bat easily. Therefore chasing might work here.
Weather Report for the match between RR vs RCB in Eliminator:
The weather will remain fully sunny throughout the day as it will touch 44 degree celsius during the daytime and at night it will down to approx 31 degree celsius. Humidity will be less as it is expected to be around 25%.
Best 11 players for the match between RR vs RCB (Eliminator):
Sanju Samson (vc), Virat Kohli ©, Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Glenn Maxwell, Riyan Parag, Cameron Green, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj.