RR vs RCB Preview: Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli gun for season's first win

JAIPUR: The battle royale at Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Tuesday — Rajasthan Royals versus Royal Challengers Bangalore — also happens to be the clash of the bottom-rankers.

IPL Schedule

After three losses on the trot, both teams have issues to address, but it is the hosts who have an upper hand going into the game with their team looking more balanced and not dependent on a couple of players, especially in the batting department.


In their first match against Kings XI Punjab, Jos Buttler anchored the innings and in the second game against Sunrisers Hyderabad it was Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane who took charge. While in the third game against table-toppers Chennai Super Kings, both the middle-order and lower-order comprising big-strikers like Steve Smith, Rahul Tripathi, Ben Stokes, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer rose to the occasion.

If Royals’ captain Rahane’s words are anything to go by, it is the team’s failure to seize the ‘key moments’ that has cost them the three games in this season so far. But the pertinent issue that the pink outfit needs to fix is the Jaydev Unadkat mystery.


Unadkat, having been slapped for 44 runs in 3 overs in Royals season opener, was introduced at the back-end of the innings in the next two games. His economy improved in the second game and it appeared to be a sensible approach given his unflattering figures with the new ball, but it was back to square one again when CSK captain MS Dhoni went on a demolition drive to reduce his economy to abominable 13.50. Rahane has on all the occasions defended his bowling unit by praising the opponent batsmen for being too good. But despite him being defensive, it is quite likely that now Varun Aaron will be brought in.

Virat Kohli’s RCB may not have recovered from the nightmarish defeat they have suffered at the hands of Hyderabad and from here, how the team picks itself will be interesting to see.


Royal Challenger’s batting revolves around two colossal figures — Kohli and AB de Villiers — and there isn’t anyone else who can be trusted apart from them. Going into the match at the Royals’ backyard, the ‘Red Contingent’ surely have a more experienced bowling line-up that boasts of ace wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, off-spinner Moeen Ali, pacer Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. But for them to deliver the goods the RCB’s batsmen need to click as a unit.

Both the teams have paid the price of scratchy leadership. If Rahane has failed to make a smart use of its bowling unit, Kohli is culpable of not coming up with better strategies that are hurting the team which has decent resources at disposal. Tuesday could be the day to make amends.