Published: Oct 03, 2020, 01:02 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 03, 2020, 01:02 PM (IST)
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers today. Having played their first two games at Sharjah, the smallest of the three venues, Royals got their strategy wrong in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai.
The ground here too is on the bigger side and Royals’ experience of playing in Dubai will help them take more informed decisions. RCB will also be making their first appearance at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. With the batsmen unable to hit through the line as consistently as they could do in Sharjah, Royals failed to chase 175 against KKR on Wednesday.
Since they have a settled overseas players’ combination, one possible change in the eleven could be replacing pacer Ankit Rajpoot with Varun Aaron, who is yet to get a game. The team has benched young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal after Jos Buttler’s arrival but calls have been growing for his inclusion. With the top three picking themselves, the stylish southpaw can only play in the middle order. Both Royals and the RCB go into Saturday’s afternoon match with two wins in three games.
RCB have made a promising start but need to improve their fielding and death bowling. Navdeep Saini bowled a tidy Super Over against Mumbai Indians to get his team over the line after RCB leaked as many as 79 runs in the last four overs for the game to be tied.
(Text Courtesy: PTI)
