Scattered thunderstorms have been forecast for the past three days and Tuesday would be no different. And while the forecast hasn’t been all that accurate for the past three days, Tuesday’s forecast for Pune would be one of the least worrying aspects for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they take on Rajasthan Royals in a crucial game at the MCA Stadium here.
Both teams have had quite contrasting last games. While Royals posted the highest team total of the season in their last game—against Delhi Capitals—RCB were reduced to their second lowest total in IPL history by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last game. Jos Buttler, with three centuries in seven games this season, is the man to dismiss. RCB found him hard to dislodge when the two sides met earlier this season, as the Englishman piled up 70 runs off 47 balls.
Task for bowlers
Dismissing Buttler earlier could prove to be a decisive factor for the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj & Co. In fact, Hazlewood v Buttler could be a crucial battle as far as the outcome of this game is concerned. The likes of Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer have all scored important runs for Royals this season, and the team management would be pretty happy with that. With Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna in the pace department, and R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal in the spin sphere, Royals have one of the strongest bowling attacks in the competition.
RR’s only weak link
The fifth bowler has been the only weak link for the Royals, exposed very well by RCB in their win against Royals earlier this season at the Wankhede.
West Indian Obed McCoy, used as the fifth bowler in the past couple of games, went for 52 runs off his three overs against Capitals. And although McCoy defended 36 runs in the last over against Capitals, it would be a challenge for him to keep down his economy rate on a ground that has short square boundaries.
For RCB, recovering mentally from the humiliation against Sunrisers will be important. After being bowled out for 68 runs with just two batsmen getting to double figures, RCB will be keen to forget the previous game and show their mettle. They are obviously a far better team than the scorecard of their previous game suggests.
But they surely need some runs, and their talisman, Virat Kohli, needs runs as well. With just 119 runs from eight innings so far, Kohli is bound to feel some pressure and Tuesday will be another opportunity for him to break the shackles. Both teams are sitting at 10 points each, with Royals having played a game less, and Tuesday’s result would further boost the chances of either team for the play-offs.
