Galloping RCB train eyes on summit clash

When Rajat Patidar walked out to bat with a confident gait against Lucknow Super Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore had just lost Faf du Plessis to Mohsin Khan's brilliance. Mohsin also straightaway troubled Patidar by beating him on the edge. In the very next over, Patidar stood tall and punched one past point off Dushmantha Chameera. From there on, Rajat didn't look back. Almost every single time he cracked a shot, there was unbridled celebration among the fans. Patidar remained unbeaten 112 to lay the platform while Harshal Patel held his nerve in the slog overs to power RCB to a defining win in the Eliminator.

Perhaps RCB can now dream of winning some silverware? They certainly have some momentum going into the Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals. They also seem to have a bit of rub of the green going their way this time around. If Rishabh Pant had taken the crucial review against Mumbai Indians, they could have ended another season short of playoffs. In the Eliminator, LSG fielders offered them repreives on the field. More importantly, slowly but steadily, RCB have found the right screws to nail down different departments with the right combinations.

The top order comprising du Plessis, Kohli and Patidar is functioning quite smoothly. Incidentally, this season, the three times Patidar has come out to bat after an RCB opener has been dismissed for no score, he has gone on to make a contribution of substance. Dinesh Karthik and to an extent Glenn Maxwell have chipped in with their share of significant contributions. RCB's lower-middle-order also seems to have a bit of a buffer. At Eden Gardens, Harshal showed smarts by bowling into the pitch twinned with slower ones while Hazlewood cracked the code of landing the yorkers. Despite having a bit of quiet time in the Eliminator, Wanindu Hasaranga is the figurehead, especially in the middle phase of the innings.
Rajasthan Royals too would be dreaming of ending their long drought which extends back to the first IPL season when they hoisted the trophy. RR ended up on the losing side in a hard-fought contest against Gujarat Titans but they have another chance to progress to the summit clash. Jos Buttler would be once again a key figure in the RR camp. The RR talisman hasn't just aggregated the most runs this season but has also cracked 39 sixes. Sanju Samson has been an able ally while Shimron Hetmyer has been the main disruptor of bowling attacks in the slog overs, even as he has found runs hard to come by in the second half of the IPL (77 runs in his last six innings).

Meanwhile, the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin couldn't pick a single wicket versus GT. RR's spinners have bagged three or more wickets in an innings on eight occasions in IPL 2022, and the franchise has won all those matches. Prasidh Krishna provides the side with hit the deck option while Trent Boult gives them the left-arm angle. But Prasidh would do well to find an erase button and move on from his forgettable last over to David Miller.

When: Friday, May 27 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

What to expect: The distance between Kolkata and Ahmedabad is 1617 km by air. So the overall conditions are also different. It is more about dry heat than humidity in Ahmedabad. Even though the temperature is expected to drop down to 29 degree Celsius in the night. The ground has six red soil pitches and five black soil pitches. So the nature of the pitch could come down to the characteristics of the soil. On occasions, the curator has left a covering of grass for a T20 game. For an important match, the curator could end up preparing a pitch with more of even bounce.

Head to head: In total, the two teams have met 26 times, with RR winning 11 and RCB emerging victorious in 13. Since 2018, RR have come out on top in four matches while RCB have won five.

Team Watch

Rajasthan Royals:

Tactics and matchups: Du Plessis has been dismissed six times by left-arm pacemen in this IPL. In the Powerplay, it is the delivery that moves across him (or straightens) that has accounted for his wicket on all four occasions. Boult, who has snared du Plessis's wicket three times in T20s, would be visualising such a dismissal.

Three of RCB's big four - Kohli, Du Plessis and Karthik - strike at under 100 versus Chahal. Maxwell has found some success against Chahal by scoring 120 runs off 70 balls but he has also been dislodged five times by the leg-spinner. The leg-spinner has also taken 14 wickets in the end overs this season.

Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Tactics and matchups: Hasaranga has accounted for Samson's wicket five times and has given away a mere 18 runs. Another interesting cat and mouse battle would be Hazlewood versus Buttler. In one of the league games, Buttler had tried to disrupt Hazlewood's length with his version of tap dancing. But Hazlewood outmanoeuvred his opponent with the short ball.

Probable XI: Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Mahipal Lomror, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood.

Did you know?

- RCB have conceded a record 137 sixes - the most ever by a side in a single IPL season. On the other hand, RR have hit the most number of sixes - 123.

- Ever since the introduction of Play Offs in 2011, the side that finished second in the league phase has made it to the final in each of the 11 previous years and won the title seven times.

- Hazlewood in the slog overs this season:

Bowling first: One wicket at an economy rate of of 13.85

Bowling second: Eight wickets at an economy rate of of 8.21

What they said:

"I have seen many impact innings and many innings under pressure over many years, I have not seen many better than how Rajat played today," Virat Kohli said about Rajat Patidar's unbeaten hundred to the IPL t20 website.