IPL 2020 RCB vs RR highlights: Kohli, Devdutt 50s help RCB win by 8 wickets

Earlier, middle-order batsman Mahipal Lomror's valuable 47 helped RR set a 155-run target for RCB

2:44 PM

RCB vs RR playing 11 prediction

RCB playing 11: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(w), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa

 

RR playing 11: Jos Buttler(w), Steven Smith(c), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot/Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat.

2:30 PM

BREAKING NEWS: Ben Stokes to arrive in UAE tonight

2:28 PM

WATCH: RR's all-rounder Curran's preparation ahead of RCB vs RR clash

2:20 PM

WATCH: RCB's preparation for today's clash

2:14 PM

WATCH: Kohli's preparation for today's match

2:11 PM

AB de Villiers stats

2:01 PM

Focus on out-of-form Virat Kohli in RCB-RR clash

All eyes will be on Virat Kohli, captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who has failed to fire so far in the 13th IPL, when his team clashes with Rajasthan Royals (RR) here on Saturday. He has managed just 18 runs in three matches and it is high time he played a big knock. Will it be a 'Saturday Special' innings from him? With two wins each from three games, both RCB and RR will aim to outdo each other when they square-off at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium here on Saturday. Despite having equal number of points (four), the Steve Smith-led RR are sitting at the fourth spot, a place above the Kohli-captained RCB (run rate -1.450), thanks to their better net run-rate (-0.219).

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli attempts to catch the ball in KXIP vs KKR match but finally dropped it, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Photo: PTI

1:50 PM

Rajasthan star Ben Stokes joins squad to kick things off

England all-rounder Ben Stokes is set to join his team Rajasthan Royals for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League on Saturday night and will immediately start his COVID-19 related process so that he can hit the ground running at the earliest. Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments in the Indian Premier League confirmed that Stokes will be joining the team after missing the first few games due to his father's deteriorating health. "He is coming in tonight and will immediately undergo the COVID-19 related procedures before joining the rest of the unit," the source said. The English and Australian players who had come in from the bubble in the UK to Dubai had to quarantine for 36 hours while the general rule suggests a six-day quarantine period for the players along with tests to check on the virus.

 

1:42 PM

Here is the Rajasthan Royals squad ahead of the match

Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Andrew Tye, Kartik Tyagi, Steven Smith (captain), Ankit Rajpoot, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Mahipal Lomror, Oshane Thomas, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, Akash Singh, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Shashank Singh, Varun Aaron, Tom Curran, Robin Uthappa, Aniruddha Joshi, Jofra Archer

Rajasthan Royals players in IPL 2020 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Photo: Sportzpics for BCCI

 

1:34 PM

Here is the RCB squad for today's match

Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Aaron Finch, Josh Philippe, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn, Pawan Negi, Isuru Udana, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Adam Zampa. 

RCB celebrates after Rohit Sharma departs early in the last match. 

1:22 PM

RCB vs RR preview

With two wins each from three games, both RCB and RR will aim to outdo each other when they square-off at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium here on Saturday. Despite having equal number of points (four), the Steve Smith-led RR are sitting at the fourth spot, a place above the Kohli-captained RCB (run rate -1.450), thanks to their better net run-rate (-0.219).

 

RR won their first two games that they played in Sharjah, the smallest of the three venues being used, and then they faltered against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their previous match in Dubai.

 

After the first two convincing wins, KKR handed RR a reality check and their top-order with the likes of Sanju Samson, skipper Smith, and Jos Buttler failed to keep the momentum flowing. Young sensation Rahul Tewatia, too, disappointed and same was the case with Robin Uthappa, who has completely failed to fire in this season so far, having managed just 16 runs from three games.

 

It's not that RR doesn't possess a quality batting attack; they just failed to adapt to the conditions in Dubai, which has a far bigger boundary than Sharjah and Smith's team will look to learn from their mistakes to muscle out RCB on Saturday.

 

Against KKR, Jofra Archer was quite impressive after bagging two for 18 runs and he needs to start from he left. However, the other RR bowlers -- Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat, Tom Curran and Shreyas Gopal -- had a below-par outing and they need to tighten their seat belts against a side which boasts of explosive hitters like AB de Villers, Aaron Finch, Shivan Dube, and Devdutt Padikkal.

RR players celebrate the wicket of CSK player match 4 of IPL 2020 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Photo by: Sportzpics for BCCI