Last Updated on 10 months ago by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2020 Match 15: RCB vs RR Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | RCB vs RR Dream11 Prediction Today | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals Key Players | Abu Dhabi Pitch Report

Put kindly, 2020 has been one hell of a year. Unpredictability has been followed by more unpredictability, and that has even crept into what has been a thrilling IPL 2020 to date.

Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the first day game of the tournament, will battle it out for a spot at the top of the table. Yes, top of the table. These two sides haven’t spent much time towards the top in recent seasons, so the incentive is there to build on promising starts for the respective franchises.

Rajasthan came crashing back to earth in their first game away from Sharjah in IPL 2020. Their comprehensive defeat at the hands of KKR is one they will want to bounce back from right away, with the onus on their batsmen to make the adjustment to the bigger grounds. They have won their past three matches against RCB, and will be banking on that factor, as well as the confidence built from their first two games this season, to perform well here.

Many believed that it could be a much-improved season for RCB. However, it is not an RCB season without its ups-and-downs, which have already been on show this campaign. Their solid first-up win against SRH was followed by an almighty thrashing at the hands of KXIP, before beating tournament favourites MI in a thrilling Super Over contest. So, a comfortable win would be calming at this point of the season, but what Kohli and his men would be after is the complete performance across the three stages of an innings, particularly at the death with the ball – an area where they continue to struggle.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

• Shreyas Gopal loves playing against RCB. He has taken 12 wickets in four matches against them, at an average of just 5.17 runs per wicket. In fact, Gopal has dismissed Virat Kohli three times and AB de Villiers four times.
• So, the onus is on Kohli and de Villiers to overcome this record. The RCB captain has had a poor start to his campaign, and has to overcome an underwhelming record vs RR that reads: 19 inns, 367 runs, avg. 21.59, SR 106.69.
• de Villiers, on the other hand, is enjoying a fine IPL 2020 campaign to date. The South African legend has 134 runs in three matches this season, at a magnificent strike rate of 186.11. Also, he still has a solid record vs RR, with the most runs in RCB-RR matches (417 runs, avg. 37.91).
• Aaron Finch is the only opening batsman to not be dismissed in the powerplay so far this season. He is coming off a fine half century vs MI.
• Steve Smith for RR vs RCB: 129 runs, avg. 43.00. Eyes will also be on Sanju Samson, to see whether he can follow up what he did in the opening two games. Samson has 207 runs in eight innings vs RCB, including a score of 92 (avg. 29.57, SR 160.47). Both Smith and Samson have two fifties in IPL 2020, but will need to transfer that form to Abu Dhabi.
• Can Jos Buttler overcome his own slow start to IPL 2020 (25 runs in two innings)? He admitted that playing in front of no crowd is a challenge, but here is his chance to adjust further. He has 174 runs in six games vs RCB (avg. 34.80, SR 161.11).
• Rahul Tewatia could also take advantage of RCB’s struggles vs legspin. Plus, he has been in good batting form, famously hitting five sixes vs Sheldon Cottrell a few days ago.
• Yuzvendra Chahal has the second-most wickets in RCB-RR matches (11). These 11 wickets have come in eight matches, and has five wickets in three matches so far in IPL 2020.
• Jofra Archer will also be key in testing RCB with pace. He will be keen on producing the form he showed in the recent England-Australia series. Also, Tom Curran will be looking to build on a promising showing in the death overs (both bat and ball) vs KKR.
• Washington Sundar bowled absoutely superbly vs MI. His figures of 1/12 in four overs were extraordinary in a 200 vs 200 match. Also, Navdeep Saini’s improved capabilities at the death make him an important cog in RCB’s plans.

Stats and Facts:

• Head-to-head: Matches 21, RR 10, RCB 8, NR 2, 1 abandoned.
• Rajasthan Royals have won their past three games against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
• Rajpoot is one wicket away from 100 in T20s.
• When RCB win, AB de Villiers is the key man. In their last 10 wins, de Villiers has eight half-centuries. He was unbeaten in five of those.

Possible Playing 11

Rajasthan do have an issue with regards to batsmen coming in at five or lower. R Parag has struggled for form so far, so it will be interesting to see if RR choose to replace him. Also, one feels that one of the top three needs to bat through towards the death to best take advantage of RCB’s bowling woes, unless Tom Curran and Jofra Archer can continue their decent batting form of late.

Rajasthan Royals: 1. Jos Buttler (wk), 2. Steve Smith (c), 3. Sanju Samson, 4. Robin Uthappa, 5. Manan Vohra/Riyan Parag, 6. Rahul Tewatia, 7. Shreyas Gopal, 8. Tom Curran, 9. Jofra Archer, 10. Jaydev Unadkat, 11. Ankit Rajpoot

AB de Villiers was struggling with cramp and dehydration vs MI, so it remains to be seen if he keeps wicket again. If not, RCB could look at bringing in Parthiv Patel to take the gloves. Also, Chris Morris is reportedly still recovering from that side strain that has kept him out so far this season. If he’s fit, he’ll likely replace Isuru Udana.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1. Devdutt Padikkal, 2. Aaron Finch, 3. Virat Kohli (c), 4. AB de Villiers, 5. Gurkeerat Singh/Parthiv Patel, 6. Shivam Dube, 7. Chris Morris/Isuru Udana, 8. Washington Sundar, 9. Navdeep Saini, 10. Yuzvendra Chahal, 11. Adam Zampa

Abu Dhabi Pitch and Weather Report

The team batting first has won three of five matches so far at Abu Dhabi in IPL 2020, with the latest being a comfortable win for Mumbai Indians against KXIP. Mumbai hit 89 in the last five overs of their innings, which showed that free strokeplay is possible. However, the question will be whether RCB & RR can finish as well as MI do.

Also, this is the first day game of IPL 2020. So, dew won’t be a factor. As a result, the captain who wins the toss could choose to bat, as the team batting first won 10 of the first 13 games in IPL 2020.

Dream11 Prediction

Option 1:

Option 2:

Match Prediction

A great opportunity awaits both teams. This one could come down to which team bats first, and whether they can get in the region of 170 on the board to build pressure on their opponent. RR’s good recent record vs RCB could prove vital here.

Thanks for reading!