RCB vs RR: Live Streaming, Match Preview, Timings, Stats, Pitch Report & more for Dream11 IPL, Match 15

After the previous match, RCB seem to have gotten a balanced Playing XI and will not be looking forward to making any changes in their squad.

Published - 02 Oct 2020, 21:20 IST | Updated - 02 Oct 2020, 21:20 IST

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The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League has been incredible so far, with all the teams winning at least one league match and losing at least one as well. In the 15th match of the T20 extravaganza, the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will lock horns with Steven Smith-led Rajasthan Royals at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Saturday (October 3).

Both the teams have won two out of the three matches they have played and are situated at fourth (RR) and fifth place (RCB) in the points tally with 4 points each. While the Bangalore outfit is coming after clinching their previous match against Mumbai Indians in the Super Over, Royals will be entering the contest after tasting defeat for the first time in their IPL 2020 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders by 37 runs.

In their previous outing, RCB had managed to put up a mammoth target of 202 on the board owing to the half-centuries by Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers and a quickfire cameo by Shivam Dube.

Though the match looked like a cakewalk for the squad after MI was reduced to a paltry total of 4 for 78, the heroics of Ishan Kishan and Kieron Pollard helped Mumbai in taking the match to Super Over. RCB eventually won the match as they easily chased the target of 7 runs posted by their opponents in the Super Over.

On the other hand, things were not all merry for Rajasthan as their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders. The bowlers did their job well as they restricted the opponents to a decent total of 174 in the 20-overs game.

However, an early collapse of the team’s top-batting order exposed the holes in the middle-order. Leaving aside the half-century scored by Tom Curran (54 off 36 balls), no batsman could score even 25 runs. Thus, RR deteriorated to 137 at the loss of 9 wickets and lost the match.

Pitch and Conditions

Since the start of the tournament, the pitch of the Sheikh Zayed Stadium of Abu Dhabi has been on the slower side, thus we have not witnessed any high-scoring matches on this ground yet.

Big ground and slow pitch has ensured that the batsmen find it difficult to play smooth innings for their teams. Since the match between RCB and RR will be played in the afternoon, the dew factor would be negligible and the teams might prefer to bat first after winning the toss.

Playing Combinations for RCB vs RR

Royal Challengers Bangalore Probable 11

After the previous match, RCB seem to have gotten a balanced Playing XI and will not be looking forward to making any changes in their squad. The presence of in-forms players like Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers and Shivam Dube adds depth to the batting order while it looks like the team has also solved its death bowling issues with the presence of pacers like Navdeep Saini and Isuru Udana.

The addition of Adam Zampa in the spin department that includes the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar has made it more lethal and competent.

Probable 11: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Adam Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini.

Rajasthan Royals Probable 11

Easy defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders, exposed the fragility of the middle-order of Rajasthan Royals. The team is heavily dependent on Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Steven Smith. The middle-order that primarily includes Robin Uthappa and Ryan Parag couldn’t do much for the team in the three opportunities provided.

Thus, it is expected that the team management and the captain can bring in the young and dynamic Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was dropped just after one bad match, to strengthen their middle-order. The bowling department of the team with the presence of Jofra Archer, Rahul Tewatia, Tom Curran, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot and Jayadev Udankat looks fine and no changes are expected in it.

Probable 11: Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Smith (C), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Jayadev Udankat.