🏏IPL 2023: RCB vs RR, 32nd Match- 3:30 PM IST 🏏

Success is where preparation and opportunity meet. 

🏏IPL 2023: RCB vs RR, 32nd Match- 3:30 PM IST 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

About 24 hours ahead of this afternoon fixture at the Chinnaswamy stadium, scenes from practice on either side of the pitch typified the venue. 

On one side, Jos Buttler repeatedly sent balls from Ravichandran Ashwin and Adam Zampa high into the stands - the sound of his bat meeting the ball echoing in the empty vessel of a stadium that will be a throbbing cauldron at match time. 

On the other side, Harshal Patel was treated disdainfully every time he missed his yorkers by a whisker. It was reaffirmation of what the venue truly offers - uninhibited batting and bowling, baptism by fire.

RCB are placed fifth in the table with six points and a net run rate of -0.068 courtesy of wins in three out of six matches. 

They will go into the game to meet table toppers RR  after beating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 24 runs 

After being put in to bat first, RCB racked up a huge score of 174 for the loss of four wickets. 

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis laid the platform with a partnership of 137 for the opening wicket. 

But after the first wicket fell, RCB could only score 37 runs in their last four overs.

Du Plessis carried his form as he notched 84 runs off 56 balls with the help of five fours and as many sixes. Kohli was a tad sedate, but accelerated later to score 59 runs off 47 balls, with five fours and a six. 

That sixes will be hit and hit repeatedly is the most obvious prediction for the venue of this size and two teams that start with an identical pomp (9.44 strike rate in the PowerPlay). 

But even where margins are minimal, they have a bowler each - Trent Boult and Mohammed Siraj - capable of flipping the venue narrative on its head and dictating the direction the game takes at the start.

Thanks for the tag Madhu.🤗

May the best team win.👍🏼

May the match end up in a thriller.👍🏼

Cheers..

What to expect: Another six-fest? This fixture is set to be played on the surface where the first two home games were played, where RCB chased down 171 against Mumbai Indians but failed to defend 212/2 against LSG.

The pitch in Bangalore has been an absolute belter for batting. Bowlers won’t have much to work with. Batters will be able to play their shots on the up without having to break a sweat. There is a 30 to 40 percent chance of rain, which could lead to delays. Temperatures will be around the 34-degree Celsius mark.

Weather wise, there could be a few dark clouds hovering over this game as thunderstorms are predicted at 3pm on match day.

Head-to-head:In 27 games between the two sides, RCB have 13 and RR 12, with two encounters yielding no result. RR have the upperhand at Chinnaswamy, with 4 wins - to RCB's 2 - in 8 games 

The Challengers should opt to field first after winning the toss. It is tough defending scores in Bangalore and bowlers won’t have much room for error.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Injury/Unavailability: After the win over PBKS, where Faf du Plessis was substituted out for the impact player due to a niggle he carried into the game, RCB bowling coach Adam Griffith said: "He came to the ground in a pretty positive frame of mind to play the full game but just when he was doing his running out on the grass he got a bit sore. He'll no doubt be pushing to be out there full time."

There has been just two days of turnaround time from that last fixture, so there's a chance RCB could go down the same route and use Du Plessis as either the impact substitute (if they bowl first) or the player substituted out for the impact player (if they bat first).

Josh Hazlewood looked sharp in the nets on the eve of the game, but Griffith had said that he still needed to tick off a couple of things for Cricket Australia to sign off on his availability to play.

Tactics & Match-ups: Jos Buttler vs Mohammed Siraj will be a tasty battle early on. The RR swashbuckler has 41 runs off 29 balls against the fast bowler without being dismissed , but hasn't crossed paths with the IPL 2023 version of him who is setting games up for RCB in the PowerPlay.

Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Suyash Prabhudessai, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohammed Siraj

Rajasthan Royals

Injury/Unavailability: None reported

Tactics & Match-ups: Trent Boult and Sandeep Sharma pose a double threat to RCB's opening duo. Virat Kohli has 78 runs in 59 balls against the Indian quick but has been dismissed 7 times by him. Boult has a firm grip over both - he has dismissed Du Plessis thrice and conceded just 76 in 71 balls while Kohli has managed 60 off 51, but hasn't fallen to the New Zealander.

Probable XI: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, R Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

Thanks for the thread and tag, Madz!

Kis kis ko select karu😆

The Royals, led by Sanju Samson, are sitting on top of the table with eight points and a net run rate of +1.043. After winning three matches in a row, the Royals lost to KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants by 10 runs on April 19 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Ravi Ashwin was the pick of the RR bowlers his figures of 4-0-23-2 restricted the Super Giants to 154 for the loss of seven wickets. Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma and Jason Holder picked up one wicket apiece. Yuzvendra Chahal had an off day after he gave away 41 runs in four overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler put on 87 runs for the opening wicket. When they were batting, the Royals were cruising, but after their dismissal, RR lost quite a bit of momentum. Riyan Parag was heavily criticised for his approach in the death overs.

Devdutt Padikkal scored 26 off 21 with four fours, but his efforts went in vain as the Royals finished their innings at 144 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs.

What they said:

"The more challenging thing about this venue is because the ground is so small and the wicket is so true, batsmen have no apprehension going for a six almost every ball. That challenges you to be more and more focussed on your execution and not bother about what the batsman is doing. Because with the impact player rule, teams are essentially playing with 8 pure batters so they are going to be aggressive from ball one and they are going to try and score 200 every game. Our job as the bowler is to execute and not worry about whether I am conceding 42 runs in 4 overs... but the focus is always on how can I make an impact where the game is going away from us - pick up a wicket or bowl a 7-8 run over and try and win the game for the team." - Harshal Patel on the rigours of bowling at Chinnaswamy.

"I've always been very lucky with him (Virat Kohli). Seven or eight (7) times I've got him, but in that 4 to 5 times I've been lucky. Those days reviews were not there, so I got lucky with the umpire's decisions. Sometimes he played and edged it down the leg side to the keeper. So yeah, I've been lucky." - Sandeep Sharma plays down his IPL record against Virat Kohli.

Harshal Patel hain so kiya ham extras ke sang ja sakte...??

Did you know:

- Since 2019, Yuzvendra Chahal has been a menace against right-handed batters. He has picked 67 wickets in 67 matches and conceded runs at just 7.29.

- In 14 innings against RCB, Jos Buttler has 412 runs at a strike rate of 153.16.

- In the PowerPlay, Mohammed Siraj has picked six wickets and conceded runs at just 4.78. For RR, Trent Boult has picked five wickets in this phase and conceded runs at just 5.58

Match 32, IPL 2023. It's royal Challengers Bangalore against the leaders of the team, Rajasthan Royals. It is an afternoon game again, which the hosts RCB won against Delhi Capitals when defending. So while RCB is a chasers' paradise in the night, don't be surprised if teams decide to bat first in the afternoon. Both the sides are fairly settled. Also to look out for is Yuzvendra Chahal bowling against RCB in Bangalore for the first time ever. Toss in half an hour.