RCB looks to resurrect campaign against soaring Titans as Brabourne beckons

In their first afternoon game of the season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore will be taking on the runaway leaders of the points table, Gujarat Titans to kickstart Saturday with an electric blockbuster. Both the teams will be coming to this contest with absolutely varied interests even though the objective would remain the same at the end of the day.

The Challengers will be raring to flip the tide in their favour with two consecutive losses suddenly taking out the sting that made them look menacing since the start of the latest edition of the tournament.

The Titans will be coming to this encounter on the back of a resonating win where Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia came together to damn the Sunrisers Hyderabad to their third defeat of the season as the former Afghanistan captain whacked a six on the last ball of the innings to finish a chase which at one point in time looked like a pipe dream to blow at.

The Challengers, on the contrary, have suffered two consecutive defeats, one of which came against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, that saw them swirling in a rare vortex of collapse while the following game saw their batters failing to back up the reverberating display that was stitched by their bowlers, restricting the Royals to a paltry 144.

Even though the tie can be very well be labelled as the perfect example of David versus Goliath on paper considering the steam in the sails of the Titans and the sudden slump in RCB’s form despite a strong start to the tournament, no game in history of any sport has been won on paper and no matter how many historical connotations one may imply, ultimately it will always boil down to the brutal contest of the willow and the leather in the hallowed 22 yards that would settle the fate of the clash.

Venue Watch:

Brabourne Stadium has so far shown superior inclination towards the batters with the average scores swinging between 170 to 190. Such has been the predominance of the batters, that at times a score of 180 plus has seemed unsafe to defend. The last game that was played in the stadium witnessed Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad clawing at each other. However, the total piled up by the Challengers was a rare slip but the way the Sunrisers batted in the second innings signalled that the batters will be savouring an edge for sure.

Battles to watch out for:

Faf du Plessis versus Hardik Pandya – Faf is RCB’s highest scorer at the moment and even though we are yet to see his best, he has already shown in glimpses what kind of carnage he is capable of bringing along with him. He is a clinical striker of the ball and once his eyes are in, the Challengers can run rampant against any opposition. Hardik Pandya has looked a transformed cricketer so far in the ongoing edition of the tournament and the new role has seen him coming of age. He has taken his time and stitched together the perfect knocks that have been substantial in Gujarat’s phenomenal debuting campaign.

Glenn Maxwell versus David Miller – The big-hitting Australian did get off to a couple of decent starts but in a flurry of all other RCB batters taking the long walk to the pavilion in the last two games, it somehow felt that he couldn’t get off the mark completely. However, the reputation that precedes him is simply mind-blowing and being a stalwart of the shortest format of the game, he can change the complexion even before you would know that he was here. David Miller is another significant moniker of the sport and most importantly, IPL 2022 has played the perfect host to a resurgent Miller, rekindling memories of the South African southpaw in his prime who has already haunted RCB once.

Josh Hazlewood versus Rashid Khan – Even though the kind of trade that these two provide are poles apart, yet Hazlewood has been in terrific form in the ongoing season as his destructive spree continues from one game to the other. Rashid Khan has actually established himself as the perfect all-rounder and an exceptionally impactful finisher that has seen him raking up storms destructive enough to bring entire empires down.

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.

Gujarat Titans:

Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron.

Match Details:

Gujarat Titans vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Venue: Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Date: 30th April 2022

Time: 3:30 PM IST