IPL 2024 RR vs RCB Preview - Both sides waiting on top orders to fire

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – Sawai Mansingh Stadium IPL records

Pitch stats from the 10 most recent IPL matches played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium

Team form RR vs RCB
RR: WWW
RCB: LWLL

Recent meetings: IPL 2023 - RCB won by 112 runs, RCB won by 7 runs

Weather

General Forecast: Dry and Clear
Chance of dew: Low

Preview RR vs RCB

These 2 sides have experienced very different starts to IPL 2024.

Rajasthan will be keen to get another win on Saturday evening to maintain their momentum and banish memories of last season where an equally strong start to the campaign was eroded away, culminating in a full on collapse when these 2 team met in Jaipur last season.

In that match, Rajasthan were bowled out for 59, the 3rd lowest total in IPL history and ultimately ended losing by a massive 106 runs, the 7th biggest margin of defeat (or victory depending on how you see it) in the league's history.

It would be fair say that Bengaluru need to relieve some of those former glories in this match to really kick start their season. They've lost 3 matches to good opposition in CSK, LSG and KKR but the real concern will be that they've not come close to even troubling those sides.

RCB were so dependent on their opening partnership for runs last season and their general lack of form this year is exposing a middle order that's not quite up to the task. Virat Kohli's 2 half-centuries aside, no one else in their much vaunted top 5 has made a significant contribution for them.

Team	50+ scores by openers in first 4 matches of IPL 2023	50+ partnerships by openers in first 4 matches of IPL 2023
RR	5	2
RCB	5	2

The dominance of these 2 sides openers after 4 matches in IPL 2023 hasn't been matched in the equivalent period in IPL 2024

RR have experienced similar issues too with Buttler and Jaiswal really struggling to date but others, most notably Riyan Parag, have stepped up to fill the void.

That being said, if Rajasthan wish to avoid the same mid-season collapse as last year and be able to continue to play 6 out and out bowlers in most games then you feel that their 2 star players at the top of the order are going to need to start scoring runs sooner rather than later.

Where RCB's victory here last season was even more surprising is that they don't look like a team who is particularly well suited to the kind of conditions they are likely to find in Jaipur.

Rajasthan played 3 frontline spinners in that game with Adam Zampa opening the bowling! That plan appeared to have worked up to the point that the Royals limited RCB to a par score of 171 before their batsmen fell to pieces in the chase.

RCB vs spin bowling in IPL 2024

RCB can expect a similar trial by spin in those middle overs today based not only on pitch conditions and the strength of the opposition's slow bowling options but also on their perceived weakness when pace is taken off the ball. While they are not losing many wickets to spin, they are scoring at just 7.7 an over against it so far in IPL 2024 and placing massive pressure on their powerplay and death overs to make up that scoring rate.

On the flip side, they also don't have a frontline spinner themselves. Glenn Maxwell bowled very well against LSG's left-handers last time out but he's less likely to get as many favourable match-ups in this game and if the Royals prepare a track that does turn a bit then RCB look out-gunned in the bowling department too.

RR vs RCB head to head

RCB bowling vs RR batting

RCB opted to replace the struggling Joseph with Reece Topley for the match against LSG and they might want to stick with the Englishman given his head to head record against Buttler.

Topley vs Buttler in the powerplay

The big left-armer has dismissed his England captain 3 times in the powerplay since the start of 2023. RCB will also look to attack Buttler with Mohammed Siraj who is capable of nipping the ball back in and exposing a flaw in the right-hander's technique which has seen him bowled 7 times in the powerplay in T20 cricket since the start of 2023.

Another good match-up for RCB comes in the form of Yash Dayal against Jaiswal whom he's dismissed in the powerplay both times these 2 players have met (both IPL 2022 while Dayal was at GT). Dayal has arguably been RCB's best player this season and is certainly enjoying his move to the Challengers and the opportunity to bowl more in the powerplay after a difficult 2023 season when he was utilised more at the death.

Jaiswal T20 head to head vs Yash Dayal

If RR can overcome that opening burst from RCB then that's where they'll start to feel confident of making a winning score. As noted above, reliance on Maxwell and Green in the middle overs doesn't look like a recipe for success in the long run. Neither has dismissed any of Rajasthan's top 4 (Buttler, Jaiswal, Samson and Parag) in previous T20 encounters.

Rajasthan current top 4 batsmen combined T20 head to head vs RCB's Aussie all-rounders

Once you get into the death overs then without a frontline leg-spinner or a specialist death overs bowler then a team with set batsmen will fancy delivering a couple of big overs against this RCB attack as we saw from LSG in the last match.

RR bowling vs RCB batting

As far as regular IPL venues in India are concerned, this is the pitch that Virat Kohli least enjoys. He's never scored a half-century on this pitch and if the form of the other batsmen in the RCB top-order doesn't improve then it's imperative that he puts that record to bed with a substantial innings in this match.

Kohli T20 record at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium

If this pitch is Kohli's Kryptonite then the Royals will also hope to have one of his nemesis back in this match. Sandeep Sharma has dismissed Kohli 7 times in the IPL but missed the win at MI with a niggle. If he does return it's more likely that he'll continue his new role as a death bowler rather than attempting to knock over the RCB top order so Kohli may be spared that match-up.

Instead, that is very much the job of Trent Boult and Nandre Burger who between them have 9 powerplay wickets so far this season. RCB collectively have managed just 3 so far this year and they've played 1 more game than RR!

Faf du Plessis T20 head to head vs Boult

Of course, RCB's top order might well prefer a bit more pace on the ball than they've been receiving in recent games where the common method of limiting scoring has been to introduce a left-arm spinner.

The Royals have recently added Keshav Maharaj to their squad and it's not beyond possibility that even with the excellent form of Burger this season that they don't look to utilise that match-up against RCB's right-hand dominant batting line-up.

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
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