The 19th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024 will feature a clash between Rajasthan Royals(RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru(RCB) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, on Saturday, April 6. Royals have been in impeccable form in the tournament so far, winning every game that they have played.
On the other hand, things have not been the same for RCB. With the side having won just one of the four matches that they have played in the tournament, heading off to the ‘Pink city’, the Faf du Plessis-led side will aim to improve and pull off a major upset.
RCB vs RR previous match results.
New season, same old worries – in a nutshell that’s how Royal Challengers Bengaluru have fared in their four games so far. With just one win, Faf du Plessis’ men are staring down the barrel as far as their playoff dreams are concerned. The batting has lacked consistency while the bowling has been woefully short of clarity in execution.
With a familiar scenario of crisis, RCB get set for a tough assignment against Rajasthan Royals who are one of the two unbeaten sides this season at the moment. That the encounter is at Jaipur makes things further complicated for the visitors, given RR’s potent home record.
Rajasthan Royals have started the season with a bang. Three wins out of three and the manner of the victories will please the management no end. The bowling continues to be their stronger suit while the resurgence of Riyan Parag gives an extra dimension to the batting unit.
The Assam batter’s form augurs well for the team with Jos Buttler and Yashaswi Jaiswal yet to fire. The duo are bound to strike form sooner than later and that will make the hosts’ batting ominous. The 2023 season saw RR stumbling at home but have gone back to their usual winning ways at Jaipur this season.
RCB vs RR Head to Head.
RR hold a slender 15-12 lead over RCB from 30 games with three no-results also in the mix.
RCB vs RR Pitch Report.
The surface at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur is one that is preferred by the batters. The ball is known to come on the bat with a good bounce; opting to bowl first and chasing the target in the second innings could prove to be an optimal decision.
Royals have won both their home games so far, batting first both times and defending totals of 193 and 185. The chasing team was in with a good chance in both games, so the Sawai Mansingh Stadium isn’t necessarily a bat-first ground, though the large outfield and relative lack of dew do tend to even things up for the team bowling second.
Given the big dimensions of the venue and its history of having two-paced pitches more often than not, RCB’s batting will have their task cut out. Most of their batters prefer to have pace on the ball for strokeplay and RR’s bowlers will be aware of the loopholes to exploit. Bangalore’s bowlers might have some respite due to the conditions but they would also have to contend with Rajasthan’s formidable batting unit. It is this sub-plot that could potentially decide the outcome of the game.
Contrary to the historical data, the two games in Jaipur this season have both seen 180-plus scores by the team batting first. One came in an afternoon game while the other was an evening contest. Batting became easier in the evening game and it could be a trend again. It should be another batting-friendly surface but could still have something in it to keep the bowlers interested.
Big picture – RCB stars looking for spark
New season, newish team name, same old problems. Four games into IPL 2024, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have just one win. The top quarter of their line-up is full of superstars, but most of them are yet to fire, which has put immense pressure on the not-quite-superstars who make up the rest of their batting. The bowling has been, well, RCB.
Rajasthan Royals have a pair of not-quite-firing superstars too, right at the top of their line-up, but that hasn’t impacted their results so far, with their opening three games bringing them three wins. How good could the Royals be, then, if Yashaswi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler begin scoring runs.
Equally, though, it may take just one of Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green to find form for RCB’s campaign to spark to life. It’s still early days in IPL 2024, and you only have to go back to last season to know that a good start is only a start. Royals began with four wins in their first five games, and RCB with two wins in five, but by the end of the league stage both teams had the same points and similar net run rates.
There’s a long way to go, then, but RCB will know that a turnaround, if there is to be one, will need to begin soon.
Team news and Impact Player strategy
Rajasthan Royals
Sandeep Sharma missed Royals’ last match, away in Mumbai, with a niggle. If he’s fit again, expect him to slot back, with Nandre Burger slipping back into the Impact Player rotation alongside the likes of Rovman Powell and Shubham Dube. Royals like to use their substitute depending on match situation rather than in a wholly toss-dependent way, and ideally like to have six full-time bowling options whenever possible.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Since making an impressive 25-ball 48 in the season opener in Chennai, Anuj Rawat has scored 25 off 48 balls across his next three innings. There is a chance RCB might leave him out on Saturday and hand the keeping gloves back to Dinesh Karthik.
It could allow them to start Mahipal Lomror instead of using him as an Impact Player, and give the middle-order batter Suyash Prabhudessai or the allrounder Manoj Bandage a look-in. There could be a temptation to try and bring Will Jacks into the mix too, but RCB may find it hard to fit him in unless they leave out their big-money trade signing Cameron Green.
Players In the spotlight: Shimron Hetmyer and Dinesh Karthik
He has one of the most specialized batting roles in the IPL, to the extent that R Ashwin routinely bats ahead of him if Royals feel the ideal entry point for their death-overs hitter hasn’t yet arrived. Consequently, IPL 2024 has seen very little of Shimron Hetmyer so far. He’s batted only twice in their first three games, and one of his innings was an unbeaten 14 off seven balls.
And when Royals bring in a bowler as Impact sub, it’s usually Hetmyer who makes way. If he makes an appearance in his designated role on Saturday, he’ll be up against an RCB attack that has an economy rate of 11.30 in the death overs this season, while picking up just four wickets in that phase in four games.
For RCB, Dinesh Karthik plays a similar role to Hetmyer, his entry point is often delayed so he can bat at the death. Royals are aware of this, and also of Karthik’s preference for batting against pace. Karthik is particularly averse to batting against leg spin, and doesn’t have a great record against Yuzvendra Chahal.
In all their IPL meetings, Chahal has bowled 51 balls to Karthik and conceded only 47 runs while dismissing him three times. Chahal is happy to bowl at the death, and Royals are happy to keep two of his overs for that phase whenever they’re up against RCB and Karthik. Chahal bowled the 17th and 19th overs in both meetings between these sides last season, picking up 2 for 11 in that mini-spell in Bengaluru, where he got to bowl to Karthik, and 0 for 22 in Jaipur, where he didn’t.
Vital Stats that matter
RCB did the double over Royals in IPL 2023, beating them by seven runs in Bengaluru and walloping them by 112 runs in Jaipur, where Royals were bowled out for 59.
Jaipur is the scene of one of Virat Kohli’s most jaw-dropping international innings, an unbeaten 52-ball 100 against Australia in a landmark ODI chase in 2013, but it hasn’t been a happy venue for him in the IPL. In eight innings here, he’s yet to score a half-century, and he averages 21.28 while striking at less than a run a ball. Of all venues where he’s batted at least eight times in the IPL, he has the worst average in Jaipur.
Du Plessis, Maxwell and Green have scored 159 runs between them so far this season at an average of 13.25 and a strike rate of 119.5.
Royals have by far the best death-overs economy rate (7.41) of any team in IPL 2024 so far, with Lucknow Super Giants a distant second best at 9.60.
Royals also have the second-best powerplay economy rate (8.44) of all teams behind Chennai Super Kings (8.16), while taking more wickets (9) in that phase than any other team.
Any Royals-RCB game is an opportunity to bring up Kohli vs Sandeep Sharma. In 15 IPL meetings, Kohli has scored 87 off 67 balls from Sandeep while being dismissed seven times. No bowler has dismissed Kohli as often, with Ashish Nehra in second place with six dismissals.
Probable Playing XIs:
Rajasthan Royals (RR):
Yashaswi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma
Impact substitute – Nandre Burger
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB):
Faf Du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat (WK), Mayank Dagar, Reece Topley, Mohammad Siraj, Yash Dayal
Impact substitute – Mahipal Lomror
Fantasy Playing XI : Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Glenn Maxwell, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Jos Buttler.
RCB vs RR Tactics and Matchups
Rajasthan Royals
Sandeep Sharma loves playing RCB, tallying 26 wickets from 18 games at a frugal economy rate of 7.94 and a strike rate of 15.6. While he has historically operated with the new ball and at the death in equal proportion, RR seem to have given him a full-fledged death-over specialist role this season.
However, Sandeep has an impeccable record against Virat Kohli, having dismissed RCB’s premier batter seven times in 67 deliveries! Sandeep has also dislodged Glenn Maxwell twice in 15 deliveries. Whether his role will be flexible due to this data in this contest is anybody’s guess. Given the convincing nature of their win against Mumbai Indians, the Royals should field an unchanged side.
Ace RR pacer Trent Boult could be the best bowler in game 19 of the IPL 2024. With five wickets in three matches, Boult has been brilliant for Royals, and RCB will be wary of the Kiwi pacer’s opening spell in the game.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli could be the best batter in game 19 of the IPL 2024. With 203 runs in four games, Kohli is the tournament’s highest run-getter and the current holder of the Orange Cap. Kohli will be keen on putting in another good showing against Royals and potentially propelling his side to their second win of the season.
RCB vs RR Match Prediction
Scenario 1
Rajasthan Royals win the toss and bowl
Power Play score – 40-50
First Innings Score – 155-165
Rajasthan Royals win the match
Scenario 2
Royal Challengers Bengaluru win the toss and bowl
Power Play Score – 60-70
First Innings Score – 180-190
Rajasthan Royals win the match