Matchups have played a very important role in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 league stage. The statisticians and analysts in every team have their pads out the moment the game starts and start tracking the numbers. They have already made a strategy and they try and formulate how it is going on in the field of play.
The scenarios are going to be the same come the Eliminator between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, May 22.
Here are the key matchups to look out for in this game with stars like Virat Kohli, Trent Boult, Glenn Maxwell, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Sanju Samson on display.
Virat Kohli vs Sandeep Sharma and Trent Boult
Virat has a positive matchup against Trent Boult, where he has scored 85 runs in 11 innings at an average of 85 because he has been dismissed only once by the Kiwi bowler. His strike rate against the left-arm seamer is also reasonable at 139.34.
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However, Kohli has struggled immensely against probably Rajasthan's best bowler this season—Sandeep Sharma. The Indian batting maestro has been dismissed seven times in 15 games and averages only 12.42.
IPL 2024 RR vs RCB Matchups
IPL 2024 RR vs RCB Matchups
Batter | Bowler | Inns | Runs | Balls | Dismissals | Average | SR | 4s | 6s |
GJ Maxwell | YS Chahal | 16 | 165 | 93 | 5 | 33 | 177.41 | 8 | 12 |
V Kohli | S Sharma | 15 | 87 | 67 | 7 | 12.42 | 129.85 | 11 | 1 |
V Kohli | TA Boult | 11 | 85 | 61 | 1 | 85 | 139.34 | 9 | 5 |
KD Karthik | YS Chahal | 12 | 47 | 51 | 3 | 15.66 | 92.15 | 3 | 0 |
SV Samson | M Siraj | 8 | 45 | 37 | 3 | 15 | 121.62 | 1 | 4 |
SV Samson | GJ Maxwell | 3 | 37 | 18 | 0 | NaN | 205.55 | 2 | 3 |
YB Jaiswal | Y Dayal | 2 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 5.5 | 91.66 | 0 | 1 |
Sanju Samson vs Mohd Siraj and Glenn Maxwell
Similarly, Sanju Samson's matchup against Glenn Maxwell is one of the best for any RR batter against any spinner as he has struck at more than 200 against the Aussie off-spinner in just 18 balls. More importantly, the RR skipper has never been dismissed by him.
On the other hand, when it comes to Samson playing against Siraj, the Kerala batter has struggled against the Miyan Bhai from Hyderabad. Siraj has got the wicket-keeper batter out three times in eight innings at an average of just 15 per innings.
Yuzvendra Chahal vs Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik
Yuzvendra Chahal also has one positive and one negative matchup in his kitty. Chahal has bowled 51 balls to Dinesh Karthik and got him out three times, giving away runs at less than a run-a-ball.
But Maxwell has thrashed the Indian spinner left, right and centre, striking at 177.42. Though Chahal has had the better of the Aussie five times out of 16 innings against him.
Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Yash Dayal
Lastly comes the matchup between two young players who had different IPL seasons this year. Yash Dayal is on cloud nine having won the game for RCB against the Chennai Super Kings. On the other hand, Jaiswal hasn't had the innings of reckoning so far and he would love to make it count in the big game.
However, Dayal has had the better of Jaiswal as he has got the Rajasthan batter out on two occasions, having bowled just 12 balls to him. Jaiswal's average against Dayal is a dismal 5.5 and the strike rate is less than 100.