With memories of a dominating win in their season-opener, Sanju Samson & Co. return to the MCA Stadium in Pune to kick off the second half of their campaign.


The last time these two teams faced off in IPL 2022, the spectators at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium were treated to a royal delight. Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer first joined forces to give the Royals a competitive total on a tricky wicket. It was followed by a strong start by our bowlers, who picked some quick wickets to peg RCB on the backfoot. In an evenly-contested match that went right down the wire, the Royals showed tremendous fight till the final over. But it was Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed’s late heroics that propelled Bangalore to an unbelievable victory in the end.


After a solid win against Delhi Capitals in our last match, we now move on to lock horns with Bangalore once again, in our eighth game of the season. 


Match Details


Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals - 26 April 2022

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

7:30 PM IST


The Royals have fond memories of their last outing at Pune’s MCA Stadium - a thumping 61-run victory against SRH in the season-opener - their only match here in the season so far. Bangalore too, have won their only game played here, a 7-wicket win over MI.


The average first-innings total at this ground in IPL 2022 has been 177. Teams that have posted totals in excess of 170 here have not lost a single game yet. The pacers have feasted on this Pune wicket, having accounted for 51 wickets across 12 innings at an average of 4.3 wickets/innings. In comparison, the spinners have taken just 15 wickets, but they have been as economical as the quicks. It is also a big six-hitting venue, with an average of 17.2 sixes being hit per match and 103 sixes hit in total so far - the highest the season has seen at a single venue. 


Player battle to watch


Yuzvendra Chahal vs Glenn Maxwell


In 12 T20 innings, Glenn Maxwell has scored 120 runs against Yuzvendra Chahal, striking at 171. But the leg-spinner has dismissed him on five of those 12 occasions, reducing Maxwell’s average to 24. Maxwell missed the first few matches of the season, so this will be his first encounter with the Purple Cap holder. An in-form Chahal, a dangerous Maxwell coming off a loss, two former teammates going up against each other - this one’s going to be a juicy contest!


Boult’s love affair with RCB


Trent Boult finds himself in an elusive list of bowlers to have picked wickets in all matches against a single opponent in the IPL. The pacer has scalped at least one wicket in each of his eight outings against Bangalore.


Most wickets for Trent Boult against an IPL opposition

Opponent

Innings

Wickets

Average

Economy

RCB

8

13

20.8

8.4

CSK

10

12

26.8

8.2

SRH

9

11

25.6

8.2

DC

7

10

19.0

7.3

Boult has also been particularly impressive against Faf du Plessis, having claimed his wicket thrice in 10 innings. He’ll be looking forward to getting rid of the Bangalore opener first up in the Powerplay.


Team News

The Royals have won back-to-back matches with the same Playing XI, which poses a question as to whether they’ll want to tinker with the winning combination. At the halfway stage of the tournament, the team looks fairly balanced, with players stepping up as and when required and even going beyond their designated role. However, the Royals bench is also full of talent waiting to be unleashed, with players like Kuldeep Sen impressing on debut. Will the management be tempted to test their bench strength, or will they stick to a tried-and-tested formula for now? Time will tell. 

Did you know?

Yuzvendra Chahal has 18 wickets after the first seven matches of the season - the most by any bowler in IPL history after 7 games. With three more wickets to his name, he will have taken the most wickets by a Royals spinner in an IPL season.

Milestone Watch

  • Karun Nair is 1 match away from completing 150 appearances in T20s. He’s also a four and a six away from completing 200 fours and 100 sixes in the format. 

  • Ravichandran Ashwin needs 1 wicket to reach the 150-wicket mark in the IPL

  • Jos Buttler is 68 shy of completing 2000 IPL runs for the Royals

Which Royal are you looking forward to watching in action? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter at @rajasthanroyals or with me @arey_yaar