Form vs funk in RCB vs RR winner-takes-all rumble
Written by I Dig Sports
Match details
Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Eliminator
Ahmedabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)
Big picture: No second chances
Since then, RCB have had a resurrection, the kind of turnaround that has been prime material for inspirational screenplays about sports teams coming back from the abyss. RCB didn't just win six in a row; they won by massive margins of 35 runs, 24 balls to spare, 38 balls to spare, 60 runs, 47 runs, and by 27 runs to improve their net run-rate and rise above three other teams on the same points as them, to make a dramatic last-minute dash into the playoffs.
A couple of days after RCB had begun their revival, Rajasthan Royals (RR) cruised to their eighth win in nine games. They had owned No. 1 for weeks and were favourites to finish there. There was absolutely no sign of what was to come.
The value of confidence and momentum in sport is impossible to measure. RCB and RR's unexpected rise and fall are examples of how unpredictable T20 cricket can be. But in addition to intangibles like confidence and momentum, there's also experience. RR go into the Eliminator with no experience of playing a high-pressure, knockout game this season. RCB, on the other hand, have qualified for the Eliminator having played, and won, six eliminators already.
Form guide
Rajasthan Royals LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru WWWWW
Previous meeting: Buttler's ton trumps Kohli's ton
Team news and Impact Player strategy
RCB brought Glenn Maxwell back into the XI for their previous game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after Will Jacks returned to England, and he scored 16 off 5 balls and took a wicket with the first delivery of the defence on his way to figures of 1 for 25 in four overs. Expect them to be unchanged, with one of Rajat Patidar and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh starting in the XI and the other coming in as Impact Player depending on whether they bat or bowl first.
Likely XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Cameron Green, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Mahipal Lomror, 8 Swapnil Singh, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Yash Dayal, 12 Mohammed Siraj
Rajasthan Royals
RR won the toss in both their previous full games but lost after making sub-par totals. Are they batting first to make the most of their Impact Player strategy: six batters and five bowlers in a batting first XI gives them the option of a sixth specialist bowler for the chase if they don't need to bring in an extra batter in the first innings. If they choose to field with six specialist bowlers in the starting XI, they leave themselves with only six specialist batters for the chase. In Chennai, they swapped out Dhruv Jurel for fast bowler Nandre Burger after the first innings. Against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Guwahati, however, they brought in Donovan Ferreira as an extra batter in the first innings because of a collapse.
Likely XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, 12 Rovman Powell/Donovan Ferreira/Nandre Burger
In the spotlight: The difference between RCB and RR
Their bowlers have complemented this surge in batting form by improving their collective economy rate from 10.70 (the worst in the league) in the first half of the season to 9.22 (second best) in the second half.
Stats that matter
- Sandeep Sharma was injured and did not play the only RR-RCB fixture this season, where Kohli made that unbeaten hundred. He's got Kohli out seven times in 15 T20s while conceding only 87 off 67 balls.
- Kohli has a powerplay strike rate of 187 in his last eight innings, which has raised his overall strike rate in the first six overs to 162 this season, his best in any IPL.
- Yash Dayal had been playing a crucial part in RCB's revival long before he denied CSK in that thrilling final over in Bengaluru. He's taken eight wickets in their six successive wins with an economy of only 7.78, which is sensational considering he bowls at the death. Dayal has a good match up against Jaiswal in T20s: 11 runs off 12 balls for two dismissals.
Pitch and conditions
The pitch for the Eliminator will be a different strip from the one used for Tuesday's Qualifier 1. There is no rain forecast in Ahmedabad on Wednesday and it's likely to be extremely hot, with day time temperatures of 40-45C reducing to only between 30-35C in the evening. Whether there is dew or not will depend on the gulf between the day and night temperatures.
The range of scores also vary significantly depending on the surface. There was only one match with 175-plus scores in the first four league matches in Ahmedabad, but the last two league games had scores of 200 for 3, 206 for 1 (RCB), 231 for 3 and 196 for 8. RR have not played a game in Ahmedabad this season.
Quotes
"When you are getting to the business end of the season, you need someone to raise their finger up and say, 'I am going to win the game for the team'. Yes, this is a team sport, but we have a lot of match-winners in the side, and we need individuals to step up."
Sanju Samson after RR suffered a fourth consecutive defeat
"When we get on that flight to Ahmedabad, we have a job to do. We have it within our grasp to do something that people will remember us for many decades. It will be a journey where people will say, 'wow, that RCB team was special.'"
Dinesh Karthik after RCB qualified for the playoffs
George Binoy is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
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