IPL 2019 - Match 49: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals - RR Predicted Playing XI

Rajasthan Royals bossed their previous encounter in the tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad, showing exactly how to take advantage of home conditions. Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen were left in two minds, whether to go for big shots or accumulate runs through singles and twos. Jaipur is a huge ground and it is not easy to clear these boundaries, hence it makes life difficult for the batters.

Yet, Ajinkya Rahane, Liam Livingstone and Sanju Samson made a mockery of a tricky run chase. Although the game went to the final over, there was no life in the SRH defence, who couldn’t prevent the flurry of ones and twos. They earned a smart and well-deserved win, which keeps them still in contention for the playoffs.

Now they have a tricky task in hands to face the Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB don’t find themselves in a great position to finish in the top four, which should ease the nerves a bit in their line-up. They don’t have a lot to put on the line, which means they can play free-flowing cricket and possibly, spoil a few parties.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Rajasthan Royals (RR):

Openers (Ajinkya Rahane, Liam Livingstone)

Their most prolific run-scorer of the season, Ajinkya Rahane, despite a poor start, found a great rhythm to his batting. He is striking the ball well and finding gaps at will, which has been a key feature to his success over the years. His positive approach is a good sign for the Royals going into the must-win game.

Liam Livingstone first came into the limelight when he scored a triple hundred in a 50-over game during his early cricketing days. He is a fierce stroke-maker and showed glimpses of his ability in the game against Sunrisers. He uses the long handle well and can tonk the cherry a fair distance, which could be a crucial facet for the side in the coming crunch games.

Middle order (Steve Smith (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Ashton Turner)

Steve Smith came in at number four in the previous game, allowing Sanju Samson to come in at number three. The decision worked wonderfully for the Royals as Samson played a crucial knock and ensured the team didn’t lose its momentum. Smith came in and assisted Samson brilliantly, but he is very well capable of taking the complete onus on himself.

After some significant struggles in getting off the mark, Ashton Turner finally earned his first run in IPL cricket. The young Australian is pretty talented and has shown glimpses of his quality in the Big Bash, but just took a little time to settle into the IPL. This probably is the opening he was looking for.

All-rounders (Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Riyan Parag)

Stuart Binny was lost in the chaos for a long period of time, but he came back on a very positive note. He has not been very impressive with his bowling in the games he played but is clearly in great touch with the bat. His experience will be crucial in the lower order for the team.

Riyan Parag squandered a second chance to become the youngest cricketer to score a fifty in IPL cricket. Nevertheless, the promise he has shown with his strokeplay has mesmerized people. The youngster clearly has a bright future ahead but for now, skipper Steve Smith would be expecting some more fireworks, a bit similar to what he did against KKR.

Although people recognize him more as an all-rounder, Shreyas Gopal has done a very good job with the bat at the domestic level and sometimes in the IPL. He is very well capable of chipping in with cameos and is one of their team’s most useful assets as it stands.

Bowlers (Jaydev Unadkat, Oshane Thomas, Varun Aaron)

All the money RR invested on Jaydev Unadkat is not reaping the best of returns for the side, which is pretty unfortunate. He has been far too inconsistent this edition, making him a victim of some severe trolls and criticism. He did chip in with a brilliant death bowling performance against SRH and would want to build on that confidence.

Oshane Thomas and Varun Aaron have the ability to bowl above the 140 kph mark at regular intervals. The extra pace is always an X-Factor and batsmen sometimes struggle against them even on the flattest of tracks. Aaron has found some great swing in recent games as well, which will boost his confidence big time.

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