The IPL has suddenly become very interesting. The top two slots in the Indian Premier League 2018 have already been booked by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings, while the Delhi Daredevils made a brave exit last night, beating CSK.
So that brings us to the weekend, when we will see four very important games that will decide who joins CSK and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the playoffs.
Most people had written off RCB and Rajasthan Royals but they are now pretty much back in the game. A win for either of the two teams in this match would book them a spot in the playoffs, while a defeat would send them crashing out.
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RCB start off as strong favorites because they have the momentum on their side and have the Batman and Superman duo of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers flying high – literally so!
Do watch this stunning catch by AB de Villiers, and tell us if you have seen anything quite like that.
Kohli said about his friend, “That was Spiderman stuff! You don’t do that as normal human beings. I thought it was going for a six, but he pulls it out, then the jump and then the balance.
“I mean, he can do freakish things, but I am used to it now. His shots still leave me in awe but his fielding I am pretty used to and that was fun to watch.”
ABD said, “I made it look better than it actually was. I got into a bad position, the ball had a bit of a curve on it. The minute I took the jump, I realised a little bit of my body was outside. I just had to put that right arm out and luckily it stuck.”
Well bromance aside, ABD and Virat know that this could be their IPL – they just need to win this game first. Things have pretty much fallen in place for RCB after an early struggle.
For Rajasthan Royals they are heavily dependent on Jos Buttler, who has made 548 runs, including five half-centuries for them. Their fortune have changed since they moved Buttler to the opening batsman slot. Jofra Archer and Ish Sodhi have been very good as well.
Prediction: ABD and Virat to win this one for RCB.
The Teams
Rajasthan Royals: 1 Rahul Tripathi, 2 D’Arcy Short, 3 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 Stuart Binny, 7 K Gowtham, 8 Jaydev Unadkat, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Anureet Singh
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Virat Kohli (capt), 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Colin de Grandhomme, 6 Mandeep Singh, 7 Sarfaraz Khan, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Watch Rajasthan Royals play Royal Challengers Bangalore this evening at 4 pm Live on Star Sports!
