Published: Apr 23, 2015, 01:28 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 23, 2015, 02:15 PM (IST)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) will aim to bounce back to their winning ways when they take on a hapless Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on the 22nd match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015, at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmadabad. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8
Sitting pretty at the top spot in the IPL 2015 Points Table, the Rajasthan Royals have been emphatic this season, having won five out of their six matches, and garnering 10 points out of them. Rajasthan are, however, coming off a loss to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their last match, and they will be eager to get back to the winning ways. IPL 2015 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers in IPL 8
It was for the first time in their history that Rajasthan Royals lost a Super Over clash in IPL, but nevertheless, the loss should not hurt the side led by Shane Watson much. Rajasthan have managed to tick all boxes right with whatever talent they have at their disposal, and their current form makes them clear favourites against the struggling Bangalore side. IPL 2015 Points Table & Team Standings: Rajasthan Royals leads the table in IPL 8
The rich form of their top three — Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Watson — makes Rajasthan a very formidable side. The presence of the likes of big hitters such as Deepak Hooda and James Faulkner too is a boon for the Royals. The Rajasthan Royals have managed to pull off impressive all-round shows in almost all matches so far, as they are no lesser side as far as the bowling is concerned. IPL 2015 Most 6s and 4s: List of most dangerous batsmen in IPL 8
On the other hand, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will have to get their act together as they look like nothing but a star-studded misfiring unit. RCB even dropped their star batsman Chris Gayle in their big clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but none in their top-order, barring skipper Virat Kohli, played with responsibility, and RCB lost their third match at home in IPL 8. IPL 2015 Leading fielders: List of Best fielders in IPL 8
The problems for the RCB lie in both batting and bowling departments. They are yet to click as a unit as far as batting are concerned, and their bowling so far has looked toothless. The inclusion of Mitchell Starc should boost their chances, but it will be daft for them to depend on only one of their frontline bowlers. Yuzvendra Chahal was impressive in the match against Chennai, wherein he claimed three wickets, but he ended up giving as many as 40 runs, which proved to be too costly.
AB de Villiers has fired but not to the extent that RCB would have liked. While RCB would hope that he bounces back to make a strong impact this IPL, they will be more worried about the form of Dinesh Karthik, who has been all at sea. Karthik has time and again got chances in the top-order, but he has only squandered them.
RCB cannot continue tinkering with their playing eleven and different combinations, such as the opening slot. The teams that have done well this IPL have settled units, and they have not experimented much either.
By the look of things, Rajasthan Royals in their current form look red-hot favourites to win this clash, and if RCB have to bounce back, they will certainly have to play out of their skins. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015: Complete coverage
Squads:
Rajasthan Royals (RR): Shane Watson (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Sanju Samson (wk), Pravin Tambe, Tim Southee, James Faulkner, Karun Nair, Dhawal Kulkarni, Chris Morris, Vikramjeet Malik, Rajat Bhatia, Stuart Binny, Ben Cutting, Ankit Sharma, Brainder Sran, Deepak Hooda, Abhishek Nayar, Dinesh Salunkhe, Rahul Tewatia, Dishant Yagnik, Sagar Trivedi, Juan Theron, Pradeep Sahu.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli (c), Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Darren Sammy, Mitchell Starc, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Subramanium Badrinath, Sean Abbott, Adam Milne, Nic Maddinson, Ashok Dinda, Manvinder Bisla, Varun Aaron, Vijay Zol, Sarfaraz Khan, Jalaj Saxena, Shishir Bhavane, Iqbal Abdullah, David Wiese, Rilee Rossouw, Abu Nechim, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Warrier, Yogesh Takawale, Jalaj Saxena.
Time: 20.00 IST | 14.30 GMT
(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
