Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will have a new opening pair for Tuesday evening’s clash against Rajasthan Royals with Virat Kohli set to open the batting with skipper Faf du Plessis. The three-time runner’s-up has dropped young opener Anuj Rawat for the big game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) with Rajat Patidar taking his place in the playing XI.
Faf confirmed the change at the toss while mentioning it is a move aimed at bringing out the ‘Real Virat Kohli.’ “One change for us – Rajat comes in for Anuj Rawat with Virat going to the top. We want him to get going right at the top, want to see the real Virat play. This is a new game, new day and well have to play well,” said the RCB skipper after winning the toss.
Continuing the tournament’s trend, RCB will bowl first in the big encounter. Despite their winning run, RR have made two changes to their playing XI. New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell and young pacer Kuldeep Sen have taken Karun Nair and Obey McCoy’s place in the playing XI.
Kohli has had a horror run with the bat in IPL 2022 far having made just 119 in the eight matches at an average of 17. In RCB’s last two matches vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the ex-Indian captain was dismissed for a golden duck. Prior to the 2022 season, Kohli had been dismissed for a golden duck just thrice in his 14-year-old IPL career.
RCB are in prime contention to make the playoffs with a record of five wins and three losses in eight matches so far. However, they suffered a major blow on Saturday as they were bowled out for just 68 vs SRH and suffered a humiliating nine-wicket defeat.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj.
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Daryl Mitchell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.
