Rajasthan Royals (RR) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 14th game of IPL 2019. Let’s take a look at the RR vs RCB match prediction.
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Rajasthan Royals fell marginally short of a victory over Chennai Super Kings in their last game on Sunday. MS Dhoni’s 75 in the first innings, and brilliant bowling performances from Imran Tahir and Dwayne Bravo sealed the game for CSK.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, meanwhile, suffered from one of their worst starts in the IPL this season. The side lost all of their three opening games, losing their last match against SRH by a massive 118 runs. After being bowled out for 70 in the first match against CSK, RCB made an impressive comeback in the second but failed to beat MI, owing to lack of depth in the batting order.
While Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore would aim to make a comeback in the IPL this season, both the sides will have a more urgent matter to press – find the first win of the season.
But who will come out as a winner in the game? Let’s take a look at the RR vs RCB match prediction.
RR vs RCB: The Number game
In the 17 matches played between the two sides, the head to head record has been largely even. RCB marginally leads RR with 9 wins, while the Royals have won 8.
RCB may boast of a consistent presence of power-hitters in the last few years but their average score (145) is only marginally better than Rajasthan Royals (140).
The game of margins ends when the location is taken into consideration. At Jaipur, both, RR and RCB have won three games each. The last match between both the sides at Jaipur ended in a win for the home side, as RR registered a 30-run victory.
While the past numbers suggest that the game could be close, present form suggests otherwise.
RR vs RCB: Present form and Paper value:
While Rajasthan has struggled in this season, their performances look far better in comparison to Virat Kohli’s men.
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s issues begin with their opening combination itself. The side has so far made three changes in the opening order in as many games. A lack of depth in the batting lineup aggravates the issue, while a lack of a frontline pace attacker destabilizes the bowling order as well.
The form of Shimron Hetmyer also comes as a blow to RCB. The West Indian batsman has so far failed to live up to his reputation.
There have been calls to include Tim Southee in the side for the game against RR. Whether Virat Kohli obliges, however, remains to be seen.
For Rajasthan Royals, slow starts have been an issue – which was evident in the game against SRH. After Jos Buttler was dismissed early in the innings, Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane forged a big partnership. The difference, however, was Rahane’s slow pace of batting, which led to SRH chasing a target like 199 with an over to spare.
Yet, we can expect Rajasthan to enter the ground as favourites against RCB, who are flooded with issues at the moment.
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The match is scheduled to take place at 8 PM.
