IPL 2022: Match 13 – Strongest Rajasthan Royals (RR) Predicted Playing XI against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

Rajasthan Royals will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 13th game of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Royals have been sensational in the two games they have played and they could not have had a better start to the tournament. While most teams have struggled to defend scores in the tournament this season, Rajasthan Royals have lost tosses in both their encounters but have managed to end up on the winning side.

In the previous game against the Mumbai Indians, the Royals posted a good score on board. However, Mumbai was right on the money in the chase at one stage and it needed a good performance in the middle overs from the Rajasthan bowlers to drag their side back in the game. Sanju Samson has led his troops magnificently so far and will be looking to continue his good run as the leader.

Meanwhile, a win again for the Royals would stamp their top position in the points table at the moment and will boost their confidence for the remaining games in the tournament. They played with just three overseas players in the previous game and might just stick to the same combination for this game as well.

Let’s look at Rajasthan Royals’ predicted XI for the third game against Royal Challengers Bangalore: 

Openers – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler 

Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t made the most of his opportunities so far in the two games but is likely to be backed considering his immense potential. The left-hander could manage just one run against Mumbai Indians and not a lot he could have done with the outstanding new-ball spell from Jasprit Bumrah. However, the youngster will be looking to improve his numbers in the season with a strong performance against the RCB.

Jos Buttler showed why he is rated one of the best T20 batters going around with a magnificent century against the Mumbai Indians in the previous game. The right-hander went hard against Basil Thampi in his first over and accumulated 26 in a single over. He continued finding boundaries in the middle but did struggle a little bit towards the end of his innings to get to his century. His contribution was immense in setting up a good total for the Rajasthan Royals.

Middle Order – Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, and Shimron Hetmyer

Devdutt Padikkal played really well in the first game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad coming in at four, but he got the opportunity to bat at three in the previous game where he failed. The left-hander was dismissed for just seven despite looking good in his short stay at the crease. The youngster will be looking for a big innings in the upcoming fixture.

Sanju Samson, meanwhile, has looked the best batter on show in both the outings and he has played a significant part to get his side to a huge total in both games. Continuing from his half-century from the first game, Samson hit a 21-ball 30 against the Mumbai Indians and he was the one who accelerated the innings. The right-hander hit three sixes and one four in his quickfire knock and has led from the front with the bat.

Shimron Hetmyer has played two finishing cameos to perfection in the two games for the Royals and has been helping the side to big scores as well. The left-hander played yet another knock of a 14-ball 35 which included three fours and three sixes and he was striking at 250, which is incredible given that he started playing the finisher role only since this IPL season.

All-rounders – Riyan Parag, R Ashwin

Riyan Parag hasn’t had many chances to prove his potential batting at number six but had taken some scintillating catches in the deep and has contributed with the ball if needed. The all-rounder from Assam has a calm head and will be crucial to the plans of the Royals once the business end of the tournament starts. He is likely to keep up his place on the side despite scoring just five in the previous game.

Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a game-changing over against youngster Tilak Varma who was going really hard at the off-spinner and it was the veteran bowler, who had the last laugh. He has had decent outings so far in the tournament with the ball and has controlled the run flow in the middle which has been a turning point as well. He finished with 1 for 30 in his four overs and has proved his worth in the side.

Bowlers – Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal 

Navdeep Saini was taken to the cleaners in his very first over by Ishan Kishan but he came back well to pick up Anmolpreet Singh in the last delivery of the over. The speedster clocked more than 145 Kmph consistently and can be a potent option in the middle overs to pick up a wicket. He bowled a superb final over against Kieron Pollard and finished with 2 for 36 in his 3 overs.

Prasidh Krishna was one of the star performers in the first game against Sunrisers but did go for the runs in the second game against Mumbai Indians. The right-arm quick took the new ball and conceded a lot of boundaries at the start. However, he came back really well towards the back end and finished with 1 for 37 in his four overs.

Trent Boult swung it both ways with the new ball and bowled a really good length and line which tested the opening batters of the Mumbai Indians. The left-arm seamer finished with 1 for 29 in his four-over spell and picked up the important wicket of Ishan Kishan which turned the tide towards the Royals franchise.

Yuzvendra Chahal already features in the race for the purple cap with five wickets to his name and has bowled splendidly in his four-over quota. Chahal had the chance of picking up his maiden IPL hat-trick but Karun Nair dropped a sitter and spoiled the party of the leg-spinner. He finished with 2 for 26 in his four-over spell and continued his impressive run.

Rajasthan Royals Predicted XI: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna