Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 162
Win percentage while batting first: 42.22%
Pitch Conditions:
- On a batting-friendly wicket at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will want to make the most of the opportunity of putting big scores on board.
- With a wicket-share percentage of 67.47%, fast bowlers have had greater returns compared to that of spin bowlers, who have taken 32.53% of the wickets at this venue.
Weather prediction:
It will be a bright and sunny day in Dubai on Wednesday as the temperature will drop down to 34°C around the time of the sunset, while the sky will also remain clear. The humidity level will be in excess of 60% on Wednesday.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:
Matches played: 24
Rajasthan Royals (RR) won: 10
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won: 11
No result: 3
Last 5 matches:
Rajasthan Royals (RR) won: 1
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won: 3
No result: 1
Top 3 players from Rajasthan Royals (RR): Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Chetan Sakariya
Top 3 players from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Rajasthan Royals (RR): Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Chetan Sakariya, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror
Top 5 players from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal
Q&A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
It is a contest between two heavily lopsided teams. While Royal Challengers Bangalore are sitting pretty at the second spot in the Indian T20 2021 points table, Rajasthan Royals are currently languishing at the 6th spot with only 4 wins and 6 defeats giving them 8 points. With the contest to be played at the Dubai International Stadium where teams have been generally able to garner runs at a healthy rate, it will be wise to add more to the batting strength while picking bowlers who are in form and have been among wickets.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
Royal Challengers Bangalore made a huge statement in the previous match against the five-time title winners and current defending champions Mumbai Indians, handing them a heavy defeat while marching ahead in their bid to qualify for the Indian T20 2021 playoffs. Royal Challengers Bangalore have played 10 matches so far, from which they have 6 victories and 4 defeats giving them 12 points and a strong footing of 3rd position in the points table, even though their Net Run Rate has been in negative (-0.359). Against a team like Rajasthan Royals which has been solely dependent on Sanju Samson for getting runs, RCB would aim for a huge victory which would help them to bridge the gap as far as NRR is concerned. RCB are certainly the stronger side and should have more players featuring in the playing XI for fantasy cricket.
MORE INFORMATION:
Players’ form: Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli created history by joining the exclusive list of batsmen who have scored more than 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. Kohli achieved his feat during the contest against Mumbai Indians, wherein he struck a splendid half-century to set up a huge victory for his side. While Kohli has been in form, RCB would have been pleased with the way the others in Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers and particularly Glenn Maxwell went about their tasks. Harshal Patel has been the best bowler across all teams this season and his hat-trick was only the icing on the cake against Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals have serious concerns given that in the last two games, Samson has waged a lone battle in the middle with the bat. The failure of the other RR batsmen with the bat is one of the key reasons why they lost both these matches. Rajasthan Royals need more from their other players desperately.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
Rajasthan Royals (RR): Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c&wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Dan Christian, Shahbaz Ahmed, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
FANTASY XI: Virat Kohli (vc), Sanju Samson (c&wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Mahipal Lomror, Liam Livingstone, Rahul Tewatia, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Chetan Sakariya.
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Royal Challengers Bangalore look to pile pressure on misfiring Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has scored 70 and 82 in the last two matches, contributing at least 50% of the runs all by himself that his side has garnered. Not surprisingly, Rajasthan Royals have lost both these matches comprehensively — by 33 runs against Delhi Capitals and by 7 wickets against the lowly Sunrisers Hyderabad.
While currently they are positioned at the 6th spot with 8 points from 10 matches, Rajasthan Royals may not be able to afford the luxury of being placed higher than Mumbai Indians anymore, given that all teams in race for the Indian T20 2021 playoffs are going to bring out their best and also conditioning themselves to do so.
In the case of Rajasthan Royals, there is an increasing tendency of depending heavily on Samson to get the runs, who was absolutely belligerent and magnificent with the bat in both their last two matches. But the others will have to chip in for Rajasthan Royals to come up with better results particularly with the ball, even though they have regularly featured some of the best left-arm bowlers in the competition.
Chris Morris, the costliest player in the history of Indian T20, looked completely out of sorts against Sunrisers Hyderabad while the left-arm seam bowling battery consisting of Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya and Mustafizur Rahman could not force themselves against SRH batsmen Jason Roy and Kane Williamson, who struck half-centuries to deliver their team only their second victory on Monday night.
Rajasthan Royals have deserved all the credit for their decision to back youngsters such as Riyan Parag, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Yashasvi Jaiswal and a few others who are uncapped but carry a lot of promise. But in a competition as intense and professional as the Indian T20, teams also require big and successful names from the international circuit to succeed, and this is where Rajasthan Royals have certainly missed their English stars in Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer this season.
But rather than sulking over what is not available, Rajasthan Royals will have to look within and find solutions to their problems, give better support to their captain Samson with the bat, and most importantly, bowl better lines and lengths in order to not have the opposition batsmen ruling the roost.
The current state of Rajasthan Royals invites their opposition teams to exploit the situation, and that will be on the mind of Royal Challengers Bangalore, who would aim for a replica of their clinical performance across departments against defending champions Mumbai Indians.
Kohli and his battery of aggressive batsmen including Maxwell, De Villiers, Padikkal, Srikar Bharat, Kyle Jamieson and a few others will be excited to face the Rajasthan Royals bowlers and pile pressure in order to record a huge victory, which would eventually help in improving their current NRR figure which is in negative.
Patel undoubtedly has been the best bowler of the tournament. The right-arm seamer relies heavily on the slower deliveries and variations, but also makes optimum use of all that he has in his arsenal. Yuzvendra Chahal has also looked in form, whereas RCB will want some more wickets from there India’s star bowler Mohammed Siraj who is yet to make his presence felt in the second leg of Indian T20 2021.
