Jaipur, Apr 12: Openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli will brace for a fiery showdown against thunderbolts from express pacer Jofra Archer as Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru look to get back to winning ways in the IPL here on Sunday.
Both teams are heading into the contest smarting from defeats.
While RCB went down to Delhi Capitals by six wickets, RR were blown away by Gujarat Titans in a 58-run drubbing.
RCB, with three wins from five matches, are placed in the top half of the table at fourth, while RR, with a win less in as many games, are languishing at number seven.
After copping the most expensive spell in IPL history on the opening night, British pacer Archer has managed to turn things around.
Relentlessly bowling over 144 kph, the England speedster had batters gasping before knocking them over.
He delivered a match-defining spell of 3/25 against Punjab Kings, lighting up the game by shattering in-form batter Shreyas Iyer’s stumps with a 148.6 kph thunderbolt.
He cranked it up to 152.3 kph against Gujarat Titans earlier this week, and sent back skipper Shubman Gill with a 147.7 kph in-swiger.
Come Saturday, Archer will be tasked with the responsibility of getting the crucial scalps of Kohli (186 runs) and fellow England teammate Salt (143 runs), a pairing that can take the game away in a matter of overs.
Archer’s resurgence is a shot in the arm for the Royals as apart from Sandeep Sharma, the rest of their bowling attack has struggled to control the scoring rate, something the RCB batters will look to exploit.
Kohli has blown hot and cold this season, despite two half-centuries. But with the explosive Salt, who can take off from ball one, for company, the former India captain has had the luxury of showing controlled aggression. He’ll be eyeing more consistency with the bat.
Devdutt Padikkal will also be eager to get a big score after underwhelming returns.
RCB will also lean on skipper Rajat Patidar, who’s been in fine touch, while Tim David and Liam Livingstone remain potent finishers in the middle and lower order.
The Bengaluru outfit, still searching for its first IPL title, has a strong pace bowling attack in Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but spin bowlers need to be a little more consistent.
The Royals, on the other hand, will be hoping for a batting resurgence after the GT debacle, when they were bowled out for a 159.
They have the firepower, with Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Nitish Rana at the top, and the explosive duo of Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer waiting down the order.
Teams (From):
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (c), Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Romario Shepherd, Lungi Ngidi, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (w), Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kunal Singh Rathore, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Kwena Maphaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ashok Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Match starts at 3.30 pm. (PTI)
