Royal Challengers Bangalore will aim to continue their winning streak when they take on Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It is important to note that RCB have never won their first four matches of an IPL season. Here is the analysis of the two teams.
SWOT for RCB
Strengths: Batting looks like the main strength of RCB. Glenn Maxwell has two fifties; AB de Villiers has one fifty and an innings of 48. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal are yet to fire this season. Batter like Finn Allen can make the line-up look even more threatening. With a bit of help from Kyle Jamieson in the lower order, RCB have the potential to put or chase huge totals.
Weaknesses: Leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has not enjoyed a good start to the season, managing just two wickets in three matches. His average is as high as 52.00. Left-arm off-spinner Shahbaz Ahmed has managed to step in and pick three wickets. But at some stage of the tournament, Virat Kohli will need Chahal to be in top form and be the bowler who breaks partnerships in the middle overs.
Opportunities: RCB played only three foreign players in their previous game against KKR. The team did not feel the need to select an all-rounder, hence fielded specialist batsman Rajat Patidar in place of all-rounder Daniel Christian. RCB can also give Finn Allen a go in the playing XI. So far in T20 cricket, he has scored 625 runs in 16 games at an average of 44.64. He boasts a strike rate of 187.68 and has hit seven fifties. Allen is a superstar in the making and deserves a spot in the team.
Threat: RCB have managed to win their first three fixtures for the first time in IPL history. But their campaign can get derailed if the winning streak comes to a halt. Apart from that, there is no possible threat going by how well the team is playing.
SWOT for RR
Strengths: Rajasthan Royals have assembled a good pace battery, and all the pacers are in form. Chetan Sakariya is the highest wicket-taker with six wickets, followed by Chris Morris, who has picked five wickets. Jaydev Unadkat and Mustafizur Rahman have picked three wickets each. All the four pacers have maintained a decent bowling economy and average so far.
Weaknesses: Batsmen are misfiring. Manan Vohra has been trusted to open the inning but has scored only 35 runs from 3 matches. Sanju Samson has fizzled out after his century against Punjab Kings. Shivam Dube and Rahul Tewatia are failing to provide big hits as all-rounders lower down the order. It is boiling down to Jos Buttler and David Miller to do the bulk of the scoring.
Opportunities: The failures of Manan Vohra can pave the way for Yashasvi Jaiswal in the opening slot. The 19-year-old opened the innings for RR in some matches last season but has warmed the bench since. The time is right to select him in the first XI.
Threats: RR are fast running out of foreign players, and interestingly have not announced any like for like replacement for the foreign players that are no longer available for the tournament. It is unlikely that Jofra Archer will return to full fitness in time. Ben Stokes has returned home after sustaining a broken finger, and Liam Livingstone has pulled out of the tournament because of bio-bubble fatigue. Andrew Tye is the only overseas player left as a backup in the RR squad. An injury to any more foreign player can affect their balance.
Head-to-Head
Matches played: 23
RCB: 10
RR: 10
No Result: 3
Form Guide:
RCB: W-W-W-L-L
RR: L-W-L-L-W
Team news
In yet another setback for RR, English all-rounder Liam Livingstone has pulled out of IPL 2021 because of bio-bubble fatigue. The RR team management is yet to announce a replacement for either Ben Stokes and Livingstone. All-rounder Daniel Sams has joined the bio-bubble of RCB after testing negative for Covid-19.
Deccan Herald’s dream XI
Virat Kohli (captain), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, David Miller, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj.
Impact player for RCB
Glenn Maxwell: After a long time, it seems like someone else can score runs for the team apart from Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Maxwell is repaying the faith instilled in him by hitting two fifties in three matches and has become the top run-scorer of RCB with 176 runs at a strike rate of 149.15. He can well become the primary factor that will dictate the momentum of RCB this season.
Impact player for RR
Chetan Sakariya: The young left-arm pacer has picked six wickets in three matches so far and had enjoyed good form in domestic cricket before this tournament. Apart from flaunting his bowling skills, Sakariya has shown that he is a decent fielder as well.