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170 run mark. Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore lost Virat Kohli for 18 runs after a steady start in the powerplay. KM Asif got the first blow.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. RCB have fielded Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasaranga on the bench. They have included Wayne Parnell and Michael Bracewell in their playing XI.
RR has also made a change. The hosts have included Adam Zampa in the squad in place of Trent Boult.
Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore will be having a evenly matched battle in IPL 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. They cannot afford to lose a single game from here if they want to make it to the playoffs.
Rajasthan Royals are in excellent form these days. Jaiswal’s 47-ball 98 and captain Sanju Samson’s 29-ball 48 helped them chase down a modest target of 150 with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday after three consecutive losses. They are back to winning ways. While Jos Buttler failed against KKR, he remains a major threat for the Royals with Jaiswal at the top of the order.
RR’s middle order also looks pretty strong with the presence of Joe Root, Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer. On the bowling front, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal shone with impressive figures of 4/25 against KKR, with New Zealand paceman Trent Boult being consistent and returning with two wickets in their previous match.
RCB, on the other hand, lost their last two matches against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians and would be desperate to turn the tables with a comprehensive win. While du Plessis has been consistent with the bat throughout the tournament so far, Virat Kohli has shone in patches and both the batsmen need to fire at the top to give RCB good starts.
Australian Glenn Maxwell has shown great form with the bat for RCB recently but he will look forward to more support from the likes of Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik.
Mohammed Siraj has been the spearhead for RCB in the bowling department and has emerged as the most successful bowler for the team with 15 wickets in 11 matches. But Siraj needs support from the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel and Vijaykumar Vaishak to contain RR.