In the 60th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Rajasthan Royals (RR) will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur tomorrow i.e. Sunday, May 14 at 3:30 PM IST.
With an emphatic win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the most recent match, the Royals snapped their losing run. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been in outstanding form this season, played an explosive knock in the last match and recorded his fourth half-century of the season. Sanju Samson‘s return to form will be a huge asset for the team. Owing to players like Joe Root, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel, the winners of the inaugural IPL season also have an abundance of batting depth. The bowlers have also been crucial in helping the team get to this stage. Yuzvendra Chahal, who now has the most wickets in the competition, delivered yet another outstanding spell against KKR. He has a terrific companion in Ravichandran Ashwin, who currently has 14 wickets to his credit. Trent Boult will take charge of the pace attack once again, and he will be accompanied by the death over specialist, Sandeep Sharma. Winning the previous match on the road and now returning home will give RR a substantial edge over the 2016 finalist.
RCB, on the other side, have lost their last two matches and another loss will very certainly mean their elimination from the competition. Despite being rather erratic this season, RCB have done sufficient to remain in contention for a top-four finish. Nevertheless, the team currently have a low NRR and will need to win big in the following matches to enhance their prospects. Bangalore’s excessive reliance on the top three batters has recently cost them dearly. Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli have been one of the tournament’s strongest opening pairings, with Glenn Maxwell following up with some particularly excellent innings. The lower-middle-order has consistently struggled to perform, and this has been the case for quite some time. The team does have significant batting depth, but the side hasn’t been able to capitalise on it. When it comes to bowling, Mohammed Siraj is the team’s leading wicket-taker. Josh Hazlewood has only played three games so far, and the team will be hoping for an outstanding performance from him.
Head-to-Head:
RCB slightly outperform RR in head-to-head competition. In the 29 games played between the two teams, Rajasthan won 12 matches, while RCB won 14. In their last outing, which took place earlier this season, RCB won by seven runs.
Where-to-Watch:
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