IPL 2020 Match 33 RR v RCB Betting Preview

Match Details
Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
12:00 SA Time

IPL 2020: Match 33- RR v RCB Preview, Prediction, Probable Playing XI and Value bets.

Betting Preview

We are more than half-way into the tournament and apart from the top two slots, the table is very open. RCB’s campaign, that looked on track to advance into the play-offs suffered a major setback as they lost to KXIP in a last ball thriller. On the other side, RR needs to win at least five of their remaining six games to stand a chance of playoff qualification. This makes the 33rd match of Dream 11 IPL crucial for both the teams. A fiery battle is on cards as RCB takes on RR in Dubai.

Rajasthan Royals look a very strong side on paper and have top guns in International cricket. However, they haven’t been able to replicate the on-paper strength on field. Apart from a very consistent and fierce Jofra Archer, none of their top performers have delivered consistently.

They head into the match after a 13-runs loss to DC in a chase that they looked well in control of. Their lack of batting depth has been the major concern. Their inexperienced middle order has been put to test multiple times in the tournament. In a squad that has Steve Smith, probably one of the greatest batsmen of this generation, Ben Stokes – a world cup hero and Jos Buttler – a star batsmen known for his batting prowess, it has been Rahul Tewatia that has made the difference consistently. Tewatia delivered both with the bat and the ball in all of the three matches that RR won.

Sanju Samson’s inconsistency has hurt the side and RR will hope that all of their big names find form. Opening the batting isn’t suiting Stokes and RR must save him for the end to finish the games for them. Jofra Archer has been in fine form and his spells have been the highlights for Rajasthan’s bowling.

Even the young bowlers have played their parts extremely well and the addition of Ben Stokes only strengthens their bowling. Starting off the tournament on a high note, RR lost their rhythm in the middle and will be desperate to get back to winning ways.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have not done much wrong in the tournament but the decision to have ABD bat at his usual position of no. 6 against KXIP in their last game proved to be fatal for them as they lost not only the match but also the momentum. ABD has been their start batsman when it comes to accelerating their run rate and putting pressure on the bowlers.

He had an incredible outing at the same venue not too long ago and his demotion in the batting order raised a lot of eyebrows. Even though Aaron Finch finds himself among runs, he has played with a strike rate that has hurt his team. His slow starts have put a lot of pressure on his young partner, Devduttt Padikkal, to take command early on in the innings.

Even Virat Kohli has struggled to free his arms and find boundaries, especially against leg spinners. But it was against Rajasthan’s bowling that Kohli played a brilliant 72-run knock in the chase to find his form back and he will look to go all guns blazing yet again. RCB needs to recover from its disappointing 8 wickets loss against Punjab where all their batsmen struggled to score runs and had it not been for Chris Morris who helped them score 24 runs in the final over, their bowlers would have nothing respectable to defend.

Kohli’s captaincy came into question yet again when he chose not to bowl all 4 of Chahal’s over and gave the ball to a very expensive and inexperienced Mohammad Siraj instead at a very crucial over of the match. Chris Morris and Navdeep Saini were yet again brilliant with the ball. Kohli must learn from his mistakes and leave no room for error in their upcoming games to ensure a successful campaign for RCB.

Injury and Availability News

None.

Probable Playing XI

Rajasthan Royals

Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Robin Uthappa, Steve Smith (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, Jaydev Unadkat

Royal Challengers Bangalore

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

Key Players to watch out for

AB De Villiers: de Villiers has been RCB’s frontline batsman since his inclusion in the side in 2011. The all-time second-highest run-getter for RCB, it will be upon him to carry his side over the line and to shape up RCB’s campaign. He has amassed 230 runs in the 8 matches that RCB has played so far and is their third-highest run-scorer this season. He has won two games for Bangalore almost single-handedly. His ability to score runs all around the ground, finding gaps and accurate placements make him an important cog in the wheel for RCB and Bangalore will heavily depend on him once again.

Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli is inarguably the best white-ball player in the world and a phenomenal leader. The all-time highest run-scorer in the history of the League, Virat has been a force to reckon with at the RCB. Finally finding his form in the game against RR, Kohli went on to score 72 runs pioneering the run chase. Since then, he has looked as elegant and majestic as ever becoming the highest run-scorer for RCB this season, scoring 304 runs from his 8 games at an average of 60.80. He has delivered in almost all games since and with him back in form, it will be a tough task for the RR bowlers to contain him.

Jofra Archer: The only RR bowler to trouble the opposition this season, Archer has picked up 12 wickets in his 8 games at an incredible average of 17.50 and an economy of 6.56. He has been lethal with his pace and has hit the deck hard in his opening spells which have been very successful in the tournament so far. He comes into the game after registering figures of 19 for 3 against Delhi. As the RCB side is often criticised to be top-heavy, a few quick wickets in Archer’s spell in the powerplay will put them under a lot of pressure and Archer will be hoping to do just that.

Value Betting

Rajasthan Royals

Jos Butler to be Rajasthan Royals top batsman at 2.40

Jofra Archer to be Rajasthan Royals top bowler at 1.75

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli to be Royal Challengers Bangalore top batsman at 2.25

Yuzvendra Chahal to be Royal Challengers Bangalore top bowler at 2.00

Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore to win at 0.68