IPL 2022: Match 13 – Predicted Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing XI vs Rajasthan Royals

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be up against the Men in Pink Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 13th game of the IPL 2022. RCB have been eyeing to get hold of the IPL trophy since the inception of the tournament but haven’t succeeded so far. This year again, RCB is on the hunt for the finals berth with the same old mission of winning the trophy.

So far, RCB has had a good outing with the new captain Faf du Plessis in charge of the team. Faf is a match-winner and has the experience of captaining his national side, South Africa. He has been reflecting on all those skills in leading RCB. In the two games played so far, RCB divided the win-loss ratio equally.

They lost their first game by the barest of margins against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and then defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their second assignment. Now, they prepare to face the in-form Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their third game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and will look forward to keeping up their momentum.

Here’s the predicted Playing XI of Royal Challengers Bangalore for Match 13 of IPL 2022:

Openers: Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat

Faf’s campaign with the RCB camp as their opener has been good so far. He scored a blistering 88 off 57 balls in his first outing against PBKS. He started off slow but picked up pace when he had Virat Kohli at the other end. In his second game, he could score only five runs as he was dismissed early by Tim Southee while playing against KKR. But his knocks have always proven to be crucial ones for the team, and he’ll continue to do so.

Anuj Rawat has been with the team for a brief time, but he has displayed his ability to play the big shots at the top. He can surely provide the team with a good score in the powerplay if the two openers manage to create an understanding on the field and take the game long.

Middle-order: Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Sherfane Rutherford

Virat will take his guard when the first wicket falls. He has been playing in the middle for a very long time, and that’s the position that works best for him. He can strike in the game when there’s an early wicket. His partnership with Faf in the first game did wonders for the team.

Karthik will be a strength for his team, given his skills as a finisher. He added the crucial runs in the death overs in both the games so far, and he’ll maintain that pace. With Glenn Maxwell not being available due to Cricket Australia’s clause, Sherfane Rutherford will continue to feature in the line-up and the West Indies start would be determined to make a mark.

All-rounders: Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, David Willey

David Willey entered the game at the No. 4 position against KKR. He scored three boundaries before being dismissed, but his power-hitting will be helpful in the game wherever he’s placed.  With the return of Maxwell, he’ll be an anchor to the middle order and help his team to get a huge score on board.

His recent stint at the Big Bash League proved to be very successful as he crossed the 150-run in a match. His return to the XI will prove to be very beneficial to the team, with the bat as well as the ball. Wanindu Hasaranga will be the bowler who breaks the crucial partnerships in the making. He has done that in the game so far, he’ll do that again. He picked four wickets in his previous game to become the leading wicket-taker for his side.

Shahbaz Ahmed will add the extra runs towards the end, just like he did against KKR. His three maximums helped RCB to cut down the chase by some big numbers when he came out to bat in the lower middle order.

Bowlers: Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammad Siraj

Harshal Patel was the highest wicket-taker in the previous season of the IPL and made a significant mark. He equalled Dwayne Bravo’s record of getting the most number of wickets in a season, taking his tally to 32. But he, alongside Siraj also conceded many runs in their first game against PBKS.

The duo will have to strategize their bowling attack in a way that they keep picking wickets at regular intervals, without conceding many runs. Harshal made a comeback in the second game as in the course of four overs, he conceded only 20 runs, picking two wickets and bowling a couple of maiden overs. Akash Deep also gave away a good amount of runs against KKR but picked up three wickets to balance it out.

RCB’s predicted playing XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep