Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will travel to Jaipur to take on Rajasthan Royals in match 19 of the IPL 2024 on Saturday, April 6. The Faf du Plessis-led side are on a two-match losing streak heading to this game and this is their fourth game of the season. (Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
RCB started off with a defeat to CSK but then won against PBKS only to lose two consecutive games to KKR and LSG.
For RR, this season has started off well. Sanju Samson's boys have won three games and their bowling has also come good so far. The resurgence of Riyan Parag gives RR a much-needed boost in the middle-order. Yashasvi Jaiswal has not started off well but this three games on, probably, Saturday could provide the impetus for the southpaw.
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With Saturday's fixture providing a do-or-die situation for RCB, it sets up nicely for what promises to be a great contest between two quality teams at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Here are the three key battles to look out for -
1) Nandre Burger vs Virat Kohli
Nandre Burger has been a great addition to the Royals in this IPL 2024 season. The Proteas bowler has provided breakthroughs (5 wickets in three matches) at crucial moments as he gears up to face one of the most quality batter in international cricket today, Virat Kohli. The duo know each other well from their battle in the Test series in January but Kohli will look to continue his fine form that saw him amass 203 runs in four matches.
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2) Trent Boult vs Faf du Plessis
Rajasthan Royals' fast bowler Trent Boult is a wicket-taking machine. The Kiwi has taken five wickets so far and is looking in fine form to hunt down that 'Purple Cap' off Mohit Sharma. However, Boult comes face-to-face against RCB captain Faf du Plessis, who himself has not been in fine nick but with the Jaipur track known to be assisting the batters, it could be well be the day for the former Protea skipper.
3) Riyan Parag vs Reece Topley
Riyan Parag's unbeaten 84 against Delhi Capitals has made his side's assistant coach Shane Bond liken him to MI's Suryakumar Yadav. Parag has been a sensation for the RR side this season and if this form continues, the Royals are well in with a chance of claiming their first IPL trophy since the inaugural season in 2008. Parag will hope that the tall, lanky Reece Topley does not trouble him but if the latter does, RCB could be in a chance of clinching only their second win of the season.
Squads
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger. Players injured/withdrawn: Prasidh Krishna.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.
