Virat Kohli has been in poor form in 2020 and he will be aiming to overcome the rut against Rajasthan Royals in the first double-header of IPL 2020.
2020 has been a strange year for the world due to the coronavirus pandemic. The IPL was postponed for six months due to this pandemic but by the sheer determination of the BCCI, they managed to stage the tournament in the UAE. 2020 has also been strange for Virat Kohli’s poor form. The Indian cricket team skipper and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain has been in poor form in the first three games of the tournament. This is not something that one is accustomed to. Seeing Kohli in a prolonged slump ever since February must be a worrying sight.
However, Kohli can get things back to normal if he can score big in the game against Rajasthan Royals. The fact that it will be the first double-header of IPL 2020 is kind of returning back to the ‘old’ ‘new normal’. Royal Challengers Bangalore will benefit immensely if they can get Kohli back to form.
For the first time, Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed to have gotten depth in both their batting and bowling. Devdutt Padikkal has been impressive at the top while AB de Villiers has been in sublime form. Aaron Finch has provided stability while in the bowling, Yuzvendra Chahal and Navdeep Saini have been marvelous.
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals will be aiming to bounce back and shatter the over-reliance on the top order. Sanju Samson and Steve Smith helped Rajasthan Royals get off well in Sharjah but in Dubai, they fell cheaply and the rest of the batting could not cope up. They have Rahul Tewatia and Jofra Archer but the lower-middle order lacks power and experience.
Even on the bowling front, Rajasthan Royals do not have depth as compared to Royal Challengers Bangalore. On paper, Royal Challengers Bangalore look stronger than compared to Rajasthan Royals, but it is Steve Smith’s team that has won three out of the last five encounters.
Team News
Royal Challengers Bangalore have a settled line-up in both the batting and the bowling. The one change that they might do is drop Isuru Udana and probably get in Chris Morris. This might give them more hitting power in the death overs as well as accurate bowling at the end. Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, might look to get someone to bolster the batting.
Probable Playing 11s
Rajasthan Royals - Steven Smith(c), Jos Buttler(w), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Rahul Tewatia, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot
Royal Challengers Bangalore - Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(w), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa
Match details
Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals
Date and Time: 03rd October, 3:30 PM IST
Venue: Sheikh Zayed stadium, Abu Dhabi
Statistics
Rajasthan Royals have a 10-8 head-to-head advantage against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 20 matches while Steve Smith’s team have won three out of the last five encounters, which included one no-result.
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