ABOUT THE MATCH:

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals will play the 15th game of the 2020 Indian Premier League ( IPL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. This game is scheduled to begin at 03:30 PM IST (local time at 02:00 PM) (UTC at 10:00 AM). Star Sports Network (available in English, Hindi, Telugu , Tamil, Kannada and Bengali) will telecast the game. On Disney+ Hotstar, live streaming will also be available.

MATCH PREVIEW:

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE:

1. Runs for Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers, and Shivam Dube are going to make their batting very confident for RCB. Surprisingly, Virat Kohli is the only player to really struggle. In order to get him in the groove of things, he is struggling and needs a strong knock. However, don’t count him out.

2. We were very pleased to see Shivam Dube coming in late and smashing sixes. Dube has failed in the past to make the transition from the domestic level to the international and IPL level. It remains to be seen if he can cope against real fast bowling.

3. In the power play, Washington Sundar has been effective, but it is debatable if Kohli uses him against Buttler, Smith, and Samson. RCB has a really good bowling lineup, with Yuzvendra Chahal, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, and Adam Zampa.

PROBABLE PLAYING XI:

Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS:

1. Steve Smith and Sanju Samson are in terrific form while Jos Buttler looked in impressive touch too before getting out.

2. Tom Curran has not been too effective with the ball and although he scored 54 in the previous match, his batting is not the reason why he is in the team. RR could bring in David Miller and replace one of Uthappa or Parag for Varun Aaron.

3. In the previous match, Jofra Archer was absolutely brilliant. His match-up is going to be mouth-watering with the solid RCB lineup. Shreyas Gopal is another bowler with a very bad 2020 IPL, and could be replaced by another leg-spinner, Mayank Markande.

PROBABLE PLAYING XI:

Jos Buttler (wk), Steve Smith (c), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat.

PITCH REPORT:

The match will be played in Abu Dhabi. In the previous match here (DC vs SRH), we saw the pitch slow down in the second inning, even though the dew was a major factor. So far, none of the matches here have been really high-scoring and actually 162 in the previous one were a winning total. We think that anything about 170 would be really hard to chase down here. Expect the spinners to play a major role in this match and others at this venue.

WEATHER REPORT:

Luckily, the temperature will not be as high for both teams as on some of the other days. The highest temperature will be about 34 degrees Celsius and for the entire game it will be like that.

PROBABLE TOP PERFORMERS:

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE:

1. Virat Kohli:

RCB captain Virat Kohli has been a backbone of the team and the onus of providing a good start will be on him. In IPL 2019, he scored 464 runs in 14 matches at an average of 33.14, including a century and two fifties. Despite Kohli’s good performance, the team managed to win only five matches out of 14 and ended the league at the bottom of the points table. Overall, Kohli has piled up 5,413 runs in 177 matches at an average of 37.84 and a strike rate of 131.61, including 36 fifties and five hundred.

2. AB de Villiers:

After South Africa’s dismal display in the ICC cricket world cup last year, AB de Villiers, known as Mr 360 due to his hitting abilities in the park, has come out of retirement. De Villiers would like to take advantage of the opportunities offered by IPL 2020 as it will assist him in preparing for India’s ICC T20I World Cup next year.

A better show will also help the Bangalore-based franchise to enhance RCB’s performance. de Villiers has been in a good form as he scored 146 runs in 6 matches during last season’s Big Bash League (BBL).

3. Moeen Ali:

In IPL 2018, Moeen Ali came to the RCB fold when he was bought for Rs 1.70 crore by the franchise. Moeen is a versatile all-rounder and known for his power hitting down the order. Given the slow nature of UAE wickets, he will be a good option for RCB team management to lower down the order.

Last season, at an average of 27.50 and a strike rate of 165.41, he scored 220 runs in 11 matches. Overall, at an average of 24.75 and a strike rate of 165.92, including three fifties, he has scored 297 runs in 16 matches.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS:

1. Eoin Morgan:

With excellent 42 runs in the last game, Eoin Morgan is looking much confident and fit. On his day, he can make things difficult for the opponent bowlers.

2. Dinesh Karthik:

In the last two matches, Dinesh Karthik has not performed that well but undoubtedly he is a crucial part of the team and batting unit. He has the ability to play his game as per the situation.

3. Andre Russell:

Another player who has not performed his strides is Andre Russell. But all we know that on his day, he will be very important for the team.

Head To Head:

1. Total Played-21

2. Won by RCB-8

3. Won by RR-10

4. Tie-0

5. No Result-3

BROADCAST DETAILS:

1. Tv – Star Sports Network.

2. Live Streaming – Disney+ Hotstar.

3. Match Timings – 3rd October 2020 2020 at 03:30 PM IST (06:00 PM local time) (02:00 PM UTC).

PROBABLE WINNING TEAM:

Up to now, IPL 2020 has been amazing. Each team won at least one match and also lost at least one. There are only two points on the table separating the first and the last team. Moreover, we have seen two Super Overs and three instances of hitting 30 runs in one over!

In this next IPL match, two teams who have been right in the thick of things are going to play against each other. After winning their previous match against the Mumbai Indians in a Super Over, the Royal Challengers Bangalore team are coming into this match. The Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, just a few matches ago pulled off the highest-ever IPL chase.

This is also the first time that both teams are going to be playing in Abu Dhabi. RCB vs RR IPL 2020 is going to be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on the 3rd of October 2020.