Royal Challengers Bangalore will be aiming to halt the Jos Buttler juggernaut when they take on Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League match at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Tuesday.
A lot of attention will also be on Virat Kohli, who has struggled for runs in IPL 2022. He fell for his second consecutive first-ball duck during the nine-wicket loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB will be looking towards their former skipper to deliver with the bat and get the team back to winning ways.
While the focus will be on Kohli, RCB will be counting on power-hitters Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaaz Ahmed, who can be destructive on their day. If they fire in unison, the Rajasthan Royals attack will have a tough time.
Skipper du Plessis, RCB’s highest run-scorer, has blown hot and cold with the willow but remains a vital cog for the team, while Karthik, with his hitting abilities, is playing the finisher's role to near perfection.
They are up against Royals' varied attack, led by Trent Boult, who has troubled Kohli in the past with the delivery that comes in.
Prasidh Krishna and the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, who has taken 18 wickets so far, can also pose problems for the RCB batters.
Ditto for Ashwin, who can be the opposition's nemesis on his day. Add to it the four overs by Obed McCoy and Rajasthan have a formidable attack.
In-form Royals, who go into the match with the confidence of two successive wins, will be hoping opener Jos Buttler’s sublime form, which has seen him hammer three hundreds this season, continues.
Opener Devdutt Padikkal and skipper Sanju Samson have also been toying with opposition attacks and are among the runs. So is Shimon Hetymer, who can compound the bowling team's woes with his brutal onslaught.
Royals would be hoping that the top order delivers again at the MCA Stadium, which has witnessed high-scoring games.
The weak links in the Royal's batting are Karun Nair and Riyan Parag, who will need to step up and deliver.
RCB have the best death bowler in Harshal Patel, but he needs support from Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood.
The four overs by Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who has taken 11 wickets, could also play a key role with the ball
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Kariappa, Jos Buttler, Rassie Van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Match starts at 7.30pm IST.
