The Rajat Patidar-led side has been impeccable in the tournament and are currently third in the standings, tied with Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants on 10 points. RCB have been dealt with three losses this season with all of them coming at home.
Interestingly, RCB have not gotten the opportunity to chase in front of their home crowd and are unbeaten this season when bowling first. They have a strong and experienced pace attack in Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar while the cool heads of Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma take charge of the spin department.
One of the strengths of their batting lineup has been the serious depth they possess. With Phil Salt and Virat Kohli proving their mettle as a dangerous opening pair, Devdutt Padikkal and Patidar complete what can be described as a complete top order with big hitters in Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma and Tim David firing on all cylinders.
The Royals, on the other hand, suffered a narrow nine-run loss to Lucknow Super Giants where they failed to score nine runs in the final over. Rajasthan, who seemed in control of their chase before both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag lost their wickets under pressure in the death overs. The team ultimately failed to chase down a modest target and slipped to their fourth straight defeat in IPL 2025.
With just two wins in eight matches, the Royals now sit eighth on the points table. Their campaign, which started with promise, is quickly slipping away due to repeated failures in close contests. Their loss against Delhi Capitals earlier in the week was also marked by poor decision-making in a chase, that could have been wrapped up comfortably.
These two sides met earlier this season, on April 13, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium where the visitors had prevailed by nine wickets. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 75 took the hosts to a respectable total of 175. In return, Phil Salt’s 65 runs followed by an unbeaten partnership by Kohli and Padikkal, took them past the finish line.
RCB vs RR: Squads
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (capt), Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag (capt), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Kumar Kartikeya, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kunal Singh Rathore, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (injured).
IPL 2025 | IPL Schedule
