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Rajasthan Royals are reeling after dropping into third-place following a dramatic collapse and must pick themselves back up and start again in the play-offs to avoid elimination here at the hands of RCB.
DATE/TIME: Wednesday 22nd May 2024, UK – 15:00 / INDIA – 19:30 / US EST – 10:00 / US PST – 08:00
VENUE: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India
WEATHER: More hot conditions in Ahmedabad, with temperatures in the high 30s with clear skies and light winds
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Sky Sports / INDIA – Star Sports / US – Willow TV
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Sky Go / INDIA – JioCinema App / US – Willow TV
RAJASTHAN ROYALS FORM: WINLESS SINCE APRIL SEES ROYALS DIP FROM FIRST TO THIRD
Just one point from their final five IPL fixtures saw Rajasthan Royals bumped out of the top two by Sunrisers Hyderabad, an outcome that was so unexpected following their wonderful form through most of the IPL prior to this recent winless run, which had seen them top of the table for large periods.
LAST FIVE: ALLLL
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU FORM: WINNING STREAK ENDED BY THE WEATHER
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the ultimate play-off wildcard, pulling off one of the biggest turnarounds in IPL history to go from bottom of the table with two points from eight games, all the way to fourth-place after accumulating six straight wins, knocking out the likes of Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings along the way.
LAST FIVE: WWWWW
RAJASTHAN ROYALS BETTING ANALYSIS
The impact of not having Jos Buttler in this Rajasthan Royals team cannot be understated. They lose so much power and big-game experience at the top of their order. It would be no surprise if they were to end up falling victim to an early wicket against a fired-up RCB, so back Rajasthan to accrue an opening partnership of under 27.5 runs.
The bowling attack is where you can find the best value from a betting perspective when it comes to the Royals. An experienced spinner in Yuzvendra Chahal is one such asset, with 17 wickets across 13 games played. Backing him to finish as Rajasthan’s top bowler against RCB is a play worth making. Trent Boult’s left-arm pace will be crucial in the powerplay and he will be tasked with trying to take those all-important early wickets. Consider backing Boult to accrue 1+ wicket.
One player who has sustained good form across the tournament is Riyan Parag. The 22-year-old enters the play-offs as the fourth highest run-scorer in this year’s competition with 531 runs to his name as it stands. Back Parag to gain another 20+ runs here.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU BETTING ANALYSIS
When previewing RCB’s final league stage match against Chennai Super Kings, we advised heavy investment on Virat Kohli and the 2024 IPL’s top run-scorer didn’t let us down. Opening for RCB, Kohli is out on his own with 708 runs in 14 innings, including five half-centuries to go with his top-score of 113 not out.
Multiple markets should be utilised again here in which to back Kohli. Firstly, the Team – Top Batter market, where you can back the India star to again rack up the biggest individual RCB score of this match. Also, the Batter Match Runs market, backing Kohli to accumulate over 33.5 runs.
From a bowling point of view, Yash Dayal has been extremely potent, recording figures of 3/20 and 2/42 across RCB’s last two fixtures. Backing Dayal to gain another 2+ wickets against a wobbling Rajasthan looks a shrewd move.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS VS ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU EXPERTPREDICTION
These two sides are on the total opposite ends of the scale when it comes to form and in the play-offs, this counts for a lot. So often, franchise T20 tournaments such as the IPL are won by the team heading into the latter stages with the most momentum behind them. RCB have been effectively playing knock-out cricket now for the past couple of weeks and their key players are currently red-hot.
Rajasthan Royals can motivate themselves knowing that their recent defeats mean very little at this point with it all being about the play-offs and their results right now, which will define their tournament. But not having Buttler especially, serves as a psychological disadvantage to them and advantage to the opposition bowling attack. With this in mind, backing RCB to extend their season further and knock out the original IPL winners has to be favoured.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS VS ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU TIP: ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU TO WIN