Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be desperate to return to winning ways as they take on the high-flying Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 19th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday.
RCB, currently placed eighth in the 10-team table, are coming off a 28-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants, while Rajasthan Royals secured a comfortable six-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in their previous outing.
The Bangalore-based franchise, brimming with talented batters like Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, and Rajat Patidar, has struggled to find consistency, with only Virat Kohli, the current Orange Cap holder with 203 runs, delivering consistent performances.
Patidar showed glimpses of his ability with a 29-run knock against Lucknow, but the RCB management will be hoping for more from their star-studded top order to prop up the middle order.
The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, with its similar pitch characteristics to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, is expected to favor the batters, potentially providing RCB with the opportunity to bounce back.
However, Rajasthan Royals, currently second in the table with an unbeaten record, also boast a formidable batting lineup, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, and Sanju Samson leading the charge.
Jaiswal, who entered this IPL edition on the back of impressive recent performances, has managed just 39 runs from three games, while Buttler, the England T20 skipper, has scored 35 runs at a strike rate of 85, failing to hit his usual intimidating form.
The clash between the two batting-heavy lineups promises an enthralling encounter, with both teams aiming to secure a crucial victory to bolster their campaign in the tournament.
Dream 11 Team for RCB vs RR IPL 2024 match:
Sanju Samson, Virat Kohli (c), Faf du Plessis, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Glenn Maxwell, Riyan Parag (vc), Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj
RCB Predicted Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik, Mayank Dagar, Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj
RR Predicted Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shubham Dubey, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger
Impact Player: Yuzvendra Chahal