Rajasthan Royals host the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in the Indian Premier League on April 6, Saturday. The two teams have a lot in common, and it would be unwise for us to predict that one has the upper hand over the other even before they have taken to the field.
RR will rely heavily upon their captain, Sanju Samson, who has shown them how it has to be done. Riyan Parag and Jos Buttler, too, will have big responsibilities to hit the ball a long way and help their side put up a big total when batting first or chase down runs when they are chasing.
RCB, which has performed poorly of late, will hope to come up trumps against RR away from home. The pitch here in Jaipur is expected to turn a lot and end up being slow towards the end. RCB must be aware of all the challenges they are likely to face in this match in western India.
Predicted Teams
RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal.
RCB: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal.
Key Players
Riyan Parag (RR): Assam all-rounder Riyan Parag has been one of the finest players in the IPL this season and will be keen to continue in the same vein of form. Parag is known to hit the ball long after lowering the order and striking it entirely out of proportion.
Glenn Maxwell (RCB): One of the biggest sloggers in the game, Glenn Maxwell, plies his trade for RCB in the IPL. Maxwell is known to hit the reverse sweep better than he plays the forward defence, which should be handy for him in this game. Maxwell is also one of the most feared batters across the world.
Match Prediction
RR have the upper hand over RCB in this game and will be expected to win it comfortably in the end. The game might end up going a tad close, but it should end in favour of the home team, who are clearly the better team on paper and in momentum.