IPL 8 Eliminator: Can Rajasthan thwart Bangalore’s royal challenge?




Rajasthan Royals (RR) will face an uphill task tonight when it faces Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a do or die battle at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium, in Pune. This is the eliminator match and a team losing it will be out of the tournament, while the winning team will face CSK in IPL qualifier 2.

IPL 2015 Eliminator: Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

IPL 2015 Eliminator: Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Both teams have gone through ups and downs in the ongoing IPL 8. However, they have successfully reached into the Play-offs. It’s interesting to know that Rajasthan Royals and RCB are currently being led by star cricketers – Steven Smith and Virat Kohli respectively. Both these players are in good form.

The way RCB made a comeback at the rain affected match against SRH was amazing. Notwithstanding the fact, it was Warner’s error of judgment while grabbing Kohli’s catch outside the boundary rope that cost them the match. If SRH skipper caught Kohli, then IPL play-offs would have been different now. It’s a fait accompli and nothing can be done about it. However, any mistake today will shatter the dream of both teams. Hence, they will have to play spectacular cricket throughout the match.

 

Winning Mantra

It would not be wrong to say that openers of both teams are amazing. A team fielding first will have to get the openers out too early in the match. As far as RCB is concerned, then picking the wickets of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli is vital. They know how to turn the match. They are capable to hit big shots even in good deliveries. So, Smith & Co. will have to dismiss them at the earliest. Ab De Villiers is another dangerous batsman. His unorthodox batting makes any total achievable. He is a big wicket at any time of the day. Binny, Morris, Faulkner and Watson will have to provide the initial breakthrough and keep the RCB batsmen under control.

RR’s batting is mainly focused around the top three batsman of the side – Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Shane Watson. They are in good form. Rahane and Watson are among the leading run-scorers of the tournament. A lot will depend on how Mitchell Starc, David Wiese, Varun Aaron and Chahal will prevent these players from playing big shots. They will have to dismiss the top 3 early or else the match would go out of their hands.

 

Teams for Today’s Match

RCB: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ab De Villiers, Chris Gayle, Mitchell Starc, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Aaron, Mandeep Singh, David Wiese, Sarfaraz Khan and Harshal Patel.

RR: Steven Smith (Captain), Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Chris Morris, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson (WK), Stuart Binny, Pravin Tambe, Dhawal Kulkarni, Deepak Hooda and Karun Nair.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Author:

Atish Home Chowdhury is a freelance writer. sports are inseparable from him. He especially loves WWE, Cricket and other sports. It was long ago during his childhood he aimed to become a cricketer first but his creativity didn’t allow him to become a player. Instead he chose to be a sports journalist. This fulfills my aim both as a creative person as well as it keeps me inside the world of sports too.

Cricket

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti enjoys gully cricket in Jaipur

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti enjoys gully cricket in Jaipur

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on February 4th, 2024

Jaipur, 04 February 2024: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti was in the pink city on Saturday where the Ambassador dropped by Rajasthan Royals’ home stadium ..

Football

LALIGA Concludes ‘Extra Time’ Webinar Series

LALIGA Concludes ‘Extra Time’ Webinar Series

Posted by: Pooja Kamboj on May 16th, 2024

Continuing to work alongside stakeholders from the sports fraternity, LALIGA, the world’s largest football ecosystem, brought the curtains down on this se ..

Tennis

Leander Paes inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame

Leander Paes inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on December 19th, 2023

Former doubles world No. 1 Leander Paes was recently elected to receive the Ultimate Honor in Tennis – induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame &# ..

F1

Life Lessons learned from Sports & Fitness #TOSBDay

Life Lessons learned from Sports & Fitness #TOSBDay

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on September 26th, 2016

Held on Sept 1st, The Outstanding Speakers’ Bureau (TOSB) Twinterview consisted of sports panelists such as Mark Gallagher (Public Speaker on F1 race), Shayam ..

Boxing

Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker set for huge showdown

Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker set for huge showdown

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on February 15th, 2018

It looks like it will be a scintillating couple of months for fans of elite boxing. There is the prospect of the rematch between Gennady Golovkin and Saul ‘Ca ..

Other Sports

The 2023-24 Season of the Los Angeles Clippers: A Mid-Season Review

The 2023-24 Season of the Los Angeles Clippers: A Mid-Season Review

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on February 15th, 2024

As the 2023-24 NBA season approaches the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Clippers have emerged as a formidable force in the Western Conference, showcasing their ..

One stop guide to all the latest sports news, reviews, opinions, fixtures and live scores from India and around the world.

Copyright © 2024 | The Sports Mirror