Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals, Qualifier 2 - Preview

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In Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2022, Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Rajasthan Royals in the final hurdle to make it to the Finals. While RCB will come into the game on the back of a win in the Eliminator while RR lost in the Qualifier 1. 

However, the Royals were one of the best teams in the league stage and deservedly finished 2nd in the points table as well. The team is quite balanced in the sense that they have their eight players set which will win the match while the rest have done well enough to support and make an impact. 

To win any T20 game, the most important thing is to sort out batting. Rajasthan have five batters to play through the inning so, in this game, RCB bowlers will have a bit more work to do. 

RR's batting includes Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Each batter has been given a proper role, for example - Buttler goes big in the powerplay, plays safely in 7-12 overs, and then again goes big; Samson comes in and attacks irrespective of the phase; Padikkal plays according to the situation, Hetmyer is the finisher. 

Jaiswal, R Ashwin, and Riyan Parag are the support players in the batting order. Jaiswal keeps the scoring rate up, Ashwin is made to bat according to the situation, and Parag is a finisher. 

This kind of role clarity has led the Royals so far into the season and they'll once again look to play the game with a similar approach and try to outbat RCB. Rajasthan's top-class bowling attack has been a big plus as well, meaning even if they score a par total, they have bowling to defend it. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore's batting too has some incredible role clarities but the inconsistencies remain. On one day, one batter wins them the game, on another day another. The good news is they have got their batters to play in different situations throughout the season. The bad news is the inconsistencies. 

In the last game, Rajat Patidar smacked an incredible ton but the Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell combined to score 34 runs. RCB's inconsistent batting lineup means a lot will depend on their bowlers. They have reached this stage so they must be doing something right but will they continue to do so? 

Rajasthan Royals - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy/ Kuldeep Sen

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj