Royal Challengers hope to keep the winning run going as they run into Royals in Mumbai

When the schedule for the IPL was announced, and there were no home games, if any of them were told that they'd have three wins out of three, they would’ve taken that. Having finished the Chennai leg, a venue which perhaps offers conditions furthermost from their home ground, the Chinnaswamy, the Royal Challengers play two games at the Wankhede which would be closest to resembling their home turf. Their first challenge at a new venue comes in the form of Rajasthan Royals who have had a turbulent start to their campaign for 2021.

The bromance between Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers was brewing even before the tournament began. However, the extent of destruction the two have inflicted on the opposition could hardly have been fathomed. Glenn Maxwell is the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, and that is a massive achievement given that he has played all 3 of his games in Chennai thus far. Maxwell and AB de Villiers hold the top 2 spots for highest averages, while de Villiers also holds the highest strike rate among anyone having faced more than 25 balls in the tournament. RCB have found in their middle order stability and destruction that they had very much missed in 2020.

Harshal Patel has been the surprise package with the ball. The speedster from Haryana, who had slipped under the radar, has suddenly turned into a match-winner who the captain can rely upon at any moment in the game for tight overs. While the Chennai track and outfield might have aided his case, 9 wickets at an economy rate of 5.75 is outstanding for someone who has bowled crutch overs for the team. Mumbai will offer a fresh challenge, and those figures are bound to get altered. However, it will be fascinating to see how the purple cap holder will adjust his game to the chalk of Mumbai to Chennai’s cheese.

The Rajasthan Royals have been unlucky in their campaign thus far. Sanju Samson in his first stint as captain of an IPL team has had to deal with the loss of Jofra Archer before the tournament even began, which was further compounded by the loss of Ben Stokes after the first game. WIth Liam Livingstone sighting bubble fatigue, Jos Buttler remains the only Englishman standing in the Royals’ camp. However, the Royals have found much encouragement through the performances of their left-arm fast bowling trio - Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya and Jaydev Unadkat. 

The Royals have been inconsistent in their batting and bowling thus far. While on one day they nearly chased down 220+, they needed a Morris miracle to chase down a paltry 150 against Delhi.

Theoretically, the RCB batsmen should find even more joy on a much more batting-conducive track in Mumbai. However, cricket rarely works that way. The Royals will have an RCB insider in their camp in Morris who has recently lurked around most of the Royal Challengers just 6 months ago. RCB have the “M” word on their side, but the Royals would have by now mastered the conditions at Wankhede. Can the Royals overcome their loss of players and inconsistencies, or will the Royal Challengers make it an unprecedented 4 in 4?

Match details - 

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Date and Time: 22nd April 2021, 7:30 P.M. IST

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Likely Playing XIs:

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), Rajat Patidar, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Rajasthan Royals - Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman