Squads –
RCB –
Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Gurkeerat Singh, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Parthiv Patel, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana, Joshua Philippe, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahamad, Adam Zampa.
RR –
Steve Smith (c), Ankit Rajpoot, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Akash Singh, Anirudha Joshi, Anuj Rawat, Andrew Tye, David Miller, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Oshane Thomas, Robin Uthappa, Tom Curran, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Team News –
RCB –
– Royal Challenges Bangalore won a triller against MI 5 days ago which went on into the super over . Young Navdeep Saini bowled i brilliant super over against Hardik and Pollard giving just 6 runs which was easily dome by VK and ABD.
– Chris Morris is still recovering so most likely he will be rested this game and team will go unchanged.
– Their Likely 4 foreign players will be Aaron Finch, ABD, Adam Zampa/Moeen Ali and Iruru Udana.
– Aaron Finch and Young Devdutt Padikal will open the innings. Finch is a world class batter while Padikal showed his class in last game. Both scored their respective 50s last game.
– Virat Kohli will bat 1 down. Virat has been slightly out of colours in last 3 games failing with bat and also poor in field. He will however still be the best player in team and can play a big game.
– AB De Villiers will follow his best friend at 2 down. He scored 55 of just 27 balls.
– Shivam Dube amd Gurkeerat will bat in middle and should also play the role of hitter.
– Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sunder will lead the spin section while Moeen ali/Adam Zampa will join them.
– Isuru Udana and Navdeep Saini will be the likely pace attack with Shivam Dube to assist.
RR –
– After having 2 six hitting festival against CSK and KXIP Rajastan managed to score just 137 last game that too after late hitting of Tom Curran. They are very much relied on their top 3 .
– Steven Smith, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran and Jofra Archer will be RR 4 foreign players.
– Jos Buttler and Steve Smith will open the Innings. Buttler scored 21 last game while Smith was out playing a very risky shot.
– Sanju Samson will bat in 1 down. Sanju has been dealing only in sixes in both the games and has scored 167 runs with a strike rate of 214.
– Rahul Tewatia will bat at 2 down followed by Uthappa at 3 down. Tewatia hit massive 5 sixes in a over against Punjab.
– Riyan Parag and Tom Curran have to play the roles of finishers. Parag played some good knock last season and can also bowl.
– Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia will bowl spin for Royals. Riyan Parag and Steven Smith can assist them if needed. Gopal has been flop this season but has an excellent record when it comes to RCB picking 14 Wickets in just 4 games.
– Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Ankit Rajpoot and Jaydev Unadkat will lead the pace attack. Jofra and Curran will bowl in death.
Probable XI –
RCB –
Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(wk), Gurkeerat Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sunder, Yuzi Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Isuru Udana, Adam Zampa.
RR –
Jos Buttler, Steve Smith (c), Sanju Samson(wk), Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Tom Curran, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot
Pitch Report –
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Pitches at Abi Dhabi are generally at the slower side giving assistance to spin more than pace in 2nd innings.
Average Score : 148
Head to Head –
Total games : 21
RCB Won : 8
RR Won : 10
Team Blueprint –
WK-
Jos Buttler ( Opener, international opener, 311 runs in 8 games IPL 2019 including 3 50+ scores, 21(16b) last game, Must have)
Sanju Samson ( 1 down, SR of 214 this IPL, 74(32b), 85(42b) in last 2 of 3 games, Must have)
Parthiv Patel( Opener, known for his fiery starts, SR of 170 in powerplay)
Josh Philippe( 3 down, very attacking Aussie Batsman, 487 runs in BBL 2019 with SR of 130, will not play)
BAT –
Virat Kohli ( 1 down, best IPL and t20 player in world cricky, leading IPL scorer, failed in all 3 games, poir Average of 21 against RR)
AB De Villiers ( 2 down, best T20 striker even if retired, 51(30), 54(27) last 2 of 3 games, 417 Runs in 13 games against RR, Must have)
Steve Smith ( Open, very consistent, 4000+ t20 runs, 69, 52, 3 in 3 games, Must have)
Robin Uthappa ( middle order, very experienced, 4400+ IPL runs in 177 games, not a good pick as Batting very low )
David Miller( 2 down, 6000+ T20 runs including 3 100s , ignored by lot today, will not play unless there is any injury concerns)
Aaron Finch ( Opener, very aggressive Batsman, 125 in 3 t20s against Aus recently, Must have especially in 1st innings, can take risk of dropping if he’s chasing, 54 last game)
Gurkeerat Singh( Middle order bat + part time off spin, 1200+ T20 runs , experienced)
D Padikal( Opener, loads of domestic records on his name, 68 in practice game, 56(42b), 52 last game, Must have)
Y Jaiswal ( Opener, young takent, highest scorer in u19 WC, 400 runs at average of 133, was dropped last game, must if plays)
ALL –
Chris Morris( Right Arm fast + late hitting, death overs expert, 22 Wicket in BBL 2019, still not fit)
Moeen Ali ( Middle order+ off spin, very attacking Batsman, can be promoted, 6w + 220R for last season, Must have if plays )
Shivam Dube( Lower order + part time pace, can hit the ball really big, 2 Wickets last game, good option now as he will also bowl, 4w this season, 27(10b) last game)
R Tewatia ( Leggie, bowls with relly good variations, 53(31b) with 7 sixes against KXIP game, 1w last game, must at 8.5cr)
Riyan Parag ( Middle order + Reg Break, 160 runs + 2 Wickets in just 7 games last season, not bowling from 2 games)
Washington Sunder ( Off spin, very economical, bowls most overs in powerplay, 4-0-12-1 his spell last game)
S Ahmed( Bowling All, slow left arm, excellent domestic season, 36R + 3W in practice game, can be a excellent pick even in SL )
BOWL –
Jofra Archer ( Right Arm fast, one of best bowlers in world cricket, 9 Wickets against aus recently in 6 games, 2 wickets against KKR last game, Must have will bowl in death )
Yuzi Chahal( Leggie, highest wicket taker for RCB, 19 wickets against KXIP, 5 Wickets in 3 games, Must have )
Umesh Yadav( Right Arm fast, bowls his 2-3 overs in powerplay, 20 Wickets in 2018 for RCB, very expensive last game + wicketless, will not play)
Dale Steyn( Right arm fast, very experienced, 256 T20 Wickets, 1w last game, was very expensive last game, could be benched again)
Navdeep Saini ( Right Arm fast, emerging talent, bowls close to 150ks , 2w against Punjab game, wicketless but Must pick from RCB)
Tom Curran ( Right Arm fast + hard hitter of ball, 153w + 900 runs in 123 t20 games, 1w + 54R last game, will bowl in death )
Shreyas Gopal ( Leggie, best bowler of RR, 20 Wickets in 14 games last IPL, 14W in just 4 games against RCB, must have )
Jaydev Unadkat ( Left arm fast, known for his variations in death, experienced, 77 IPL Wickets,1w last game )
Isuru Udana( Left arm Medium + late hitting, dark horse for RCB, experienced, 146 t20 Wickets, 2w last game)
Ankit Rajpoot ( Pacer, hit the deck bowler, 1w last game )
C/VC –
RCB –
AB De Villiers
Virat Kohli
Aaron Finch
Devdutt Padikkal
RR –
Jos Buttler
Steven Smith
Sanju Samson