The Rajasthan Royals host the Royal Challengers Bangalore in tactically a knock out encounter at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Both RR and RCB are placed at 12 points and only a win here can help their chances of reaching the Play Offs. RR were not in a good position few weeks into the tournament and it looked like that RR will soon be eliminated from the race to the final four, however RR peaked at the right time and with the help of the consistent Jos Buttler at the top of the order stitched a few wins together before a heart breaking defeat against Kolkata in their previous encounter.

RCB have just about peaked at the right time with three back to back wins under their belt before the match against Jaipur. That would definitely help them in this match as the team now is in a much better state of mind than it was a few weeks ago. Their bowling has improved and even with their batting order, they now seem to have a much better lineup with Parthiv and Virat coming in to open the innings. RCB also have a good net run rate and that would be a big plus if two or more teams are tied at 14 points eventually.

Since Jos Buttler will not be representing RR for the rest of the season Sanju Samson and skipper Rahane would be the key batsmen for the Royals. In a big game, RR will hope that their key players are up to the mark.

RCB have always been reliant on their batting superstars AB and Virat but what has clicked for them in their last few games that other batsmen like Parthiv, Moeen and Colin have contributed and helped RCB to put on a decent total with the bat or chase down scores with ease. Even Mandeep down the order has been impressive.

An interesting battle lined up for today is Jofra Archer vs Virat. Archer has been a big boost to the team and is the team’s leading wicket taker despite missing the first few games due to injury. This tells a story in itself.

Undoubtedly, Umesh Yadav and Chahal would be the go to bowlers for Virat Kohli in this game. Siraj is doing a decent job at the death and so Umesh and Yadav tend to bowl out before the death overs which has made job a lot easier for the captain.

Lots at stake for this encounter at Jaipur. Broadcast starts at 16:00 Hours (IST).