IPL 2024 Eliminator: RR field Shimron Hetmyer as Impact Substitute as RCB enter unchanged

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Eliminator of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024), at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, on (Wednesday) May 22. The game is a now or never for both teams as the winner gets to face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 on May 24 and the losing team will bid farewell to the league. Coming back to the game, RR won the toss and opted to bowl first. 

For the crucial game, RR made a lone change to their squad as Shimron Hetmyer came back as an impact substitute against RCB, Hetmeyer was sidelined in RR’s previous games to provide him ample rest and try inducting Tom Kohler-Cadmore to fill the void left by Jos Buttler’s absence. RCB however, stuck to their winning combination and entered the fray with an unchanged setup.

“Would like to bowl first looking at the conditions and the wicket. There was dew last night. It's all about the mindset. Really excited to come and play in this fabulous stadium. Great energy here. Looking at what has cricket taught us. When you have bad days, need to have the character and confidence. That has been the challenging part - fitness and injuries. Hetty comes back, said Samson at the toss.

“Would've done the same. Watching the game last night, there was assistance for the seam bowlers early on. This looks on the drier side with some fake grass on top. We've had that mindset right through. Focussing on your own skills, being true to the way you want to play. Last game against CSK was an unbelievable one. Less is more. People think when you get to the knockout stages, you need to be Superman. It's just showing the boys that you trust them. Same team,” said Du Plessis at the toss.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik(w), Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Swapnil Singh, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Himanshu Sharma

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

Rajasthan Royals Impact Subs: Shubham Dubey, Donovan Ferreira, Nandre Burger, Shimron Hetmyer, Tanush Kotian