Inaugural edition champions Rajasthan Royals take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2022 on Friday. RR lost to Gujarat Titans by seven wickets in Qualifier 1 but their top-two finish in the points table ensured them of a second chance. They now face RCB, who will be entering the final for the third time but are still without a trophy. Faf du Plessis’ team is coming on the back of a thrilling 14-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator game.
LIVE STREAMING - WHERE TO SEE LIVE
The Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore encounter can be seen live on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD. Viewers will also able to catch the RR vs RCB live streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on their android and apple mobiles and tablets. Time: 7:30 PM IST.
TEAM NEWS
Rajasthan Royals: Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler is back in form with a 89 off 56 against GT in the side’s previous game, but Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to do better as an opener. On the other hand, Sanju Samson continues to tear apart the opposition bowlers but he is failing in taking his innings deep. While Devdutt Padikkal continues to play crucial cameos at the middle, Shimron Hetmyer needs to put up a better performance. On the bowling front, the side lacked a match-winner in Qualifer 1. All their bowlers, including Purple Cap holder Yuzvendra Chahal, went for too many runs in the game. Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy need to complement each other, while Ravichandran Ashwin should look to go for wickets apart from choking the batsmen for runs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli continues to struggle with his batting form, while RCB skipper and their leading run scorer Faf du Plessis will be itching to contribute with another useful knock. The biggest positive for the side is Rajat Patidar, a batsman had come in as a replacement player but hit a sensational hundred in the Eliminator game against LSG. Dinesh Karthik continues his impressive form, but Glenn Maxwell needs to play with more responsibility. On the bowling front, Harshal Patel remains RCB’s go-to bowler with Josh Hazlewood providing good support to him. Wanindu Hasaranga is the leading wicket-taker for the side with 25 scalps to his credit.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Both Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore have faced each other 27 times in IPL. RCB won 13 while RR won 11. Three games ended in a no result. Talking about this season, RCB beat Rajasthan by 4 wickets in the first-leg game, while RR won the second-leg game by 29 runs.
VENUE AND PITCH
RR and RCB play their IPL 2022 match at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The venue is expected to offer a balanced surface and the team that wins the toss would like to bowl first.
LIKELY PLAYING XIs
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj.
