RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
Hardik Pandya has quit Gujarat Titans to rejoin his former team Mumbai Indians, following a trade between the two franchises.
'Ashwin himself was asking from the field as well, and we had discussed it just before that, as to what we would do.'
MI are coming into the match after suffering back-to-back losses
How the India Test regulars and discards fared over the first two days in the opening round matches of Duleep Trophy.
Seamers Shivam Dube (4/10) and Royston Dias (3/35) powered Mumbai's outright win over Bihar by an innings and 51 runs in their Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season opener in Patna on Monday.
'Great players go through phases like this and we wanted to get him in the game straightaway'
Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Riyan Parag lavished praise on young pacer Kartik Tyagi, who helped his team pull off a two-run win over Punjab Kings in their IPL match, saying it was the "number one" spell he has seen in his cricketing career.
Steve Smith celebrated his return at the helm with a captain's innings that powered Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket victory over a formidable Mumbai Indians.
Once Dube departed in the 16th over, it was always going to be a big ask for RR to post a challenging total.
Mumbai, Punjab, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Bengal advance to QFs
North East were 65 for 2, 475 runs in arrears, when bad light and rain forced an early closure to their first dig on Thursday.
Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed spun a web around Rajasthan Royals' batters to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to an emphatic 36-run victory.
IMAGES from the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals played in Mullanpur on Saturday
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly said on Saturday that Rishabh Pant is "fully fit" but added that the wicketkeeper-batter should be given some more time to prepare himself for India team selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.
Central will face West Zone in the semi-final at the Alur grounds from July 5. In the second semifinal, North Zone will take on South Zone at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Rahul Tewatia smashed an unbeaten 45 off 28 balls as the Royals overhauled the 159 run target with a ball to spare.
Tendulkar's remarks came as KKR defeated Rajasthan Royals by 37 runs.
While Moeen Ali sparkled with excellent figures of 3/7 in three overs, Ravindra Jadeja took 2/28 in four overs as the two spinners consigned Royals to a thumping 45-run defeat.
Rajasthan Royals lost five wickets for eight runs in the space of 21 balls and their hopes were all but over after being reduced to 95/7 in the 15th over.
The national selection committee is unlikely to blood any rookie IPL performer during the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Americas but a couple of tried-and-tested faces might have to brace up for disappointment when the squad is finalised by the end of this month.
Rajasthan Royals are better placed than Punjab Kings on the net run rate but both will have to rely on other results to advance.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
The Royals can take solace from the fact that they emerged victorious earlier in the season against GT.
However, Rajasthan would be a bit more desperate than Delhi as they are languishing at the second last position in the points table with just three wins from nine outings.
'I am sure I will smile and enjoy it, and will try to get the best out of myself'
Cummins revealed he had put pressure on himself at the start of the tournament and exuded confidence that he has improved as the megaevent progressed.
The Assam Cricket Association will use the Sunday's India-Sri Lanka T20I as a "curtain-raiser", ahead of hosting two home matches of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League this year. The ACA wants to create an IPL like atmosphere for Sunday's international fixture.
Jason Holder could well turn out to be one of the most expensive buys at this edition of IPL
While SRH can't afford to slip up even one bit with five games remaining, RR would be hoping to continue the winning momentum and hope that their foreign recruits continue in good nick like they did in the match against CSK.
Chris Morris took four wickets to power Rajasthan Royals to an easy six-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL match, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel struck unbeaten half-centuries to power Rajasthan Royals to an emphatic seven-wicket victory against Lucknow Super Giants.
A summary of Friday's action in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
'Sanju backed himself to get the job done, and he nearly did'
With 63 runs needed off 25 balls, the metaphoric noose of the mounting run rate kept tightening around his neck as Hooda attempted a pre-meditated shot against Chahal.
Both Jaiswal and du Plessis, the leading run-getters in IPL 2023 so far, are in scintillating form. While du Plessis is leading the scoring charts with 576 runs from 11 innings, including six half centuries and a best of 84, Jaiswal is a close second with 575 runs from 12 matches, which includes four fifties and a 124-run knock.
RR became the first team in IPL history to employ the 'retired out' tactic
Ishant and Mishra took three wickets each to decimate the Royals.
With both batsmen going hammer and tongs it was guaranteed that Rajasthan would breach the 200 run mark.
