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Eliminator match will be played in IPL today. The match between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Ahmedabad will start at 7:30 PM. Here Rajasthan has won 67% and Bengaluru 50% of the matches.
RR made it to the playoffs for the sixth time and RCB for the ninth time. In the top-4 stage, RR has won 44% of the matches and RCB has won only 36%. Both teams will clash in the Eliminator for the second time, before this RCB had won in 2015. The team that wins today will play against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier-2 on May 24 to enter the final. The team that loses the Eliminator match will be out of the tournament.
Analysis of eliminator teams RR and RCB. Starting with RCB…
road to playoff
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won 7 matches and lost 7 in IPL 2024. The team stood fourth with 14 points, CSK, DC and LSG also had the same number of points but Bengaluru won due to better run rate.
Turning Point: Reached the playoffs after defeating the defending champions
RCB had the worst start in the 17th season. By April 21, the team was at 10th position in the points table after winning one out of 8 matches. Neither bowling nor batting was working. On April 25, RCB again defeated SRH, the strongest batting unit of the season, by 35 runs.
After Hyderabad, RCB won 4 more consecutive matches and made it to the top-7 with 12 points. The last match was against defending champion CSK on 18 May. To qualify, the team needed to win by 18 runs, RCB won the thrilling match by 27 runs on their home ground and made it to the playoffs by finishing at number four.
- Strength: In death overs, RCB has scored 717 runs at a strike rate of 199.17, which is the best among 10 teams. The team has scored the maximum runs even between 7 and 15 overs. Yash Dayal, Siraj and Swapnil Singh are taking wickets with the new ball. The team is also doing very attacking batting now.
- Weakness: RCB bowlers have been able to take only 22 wickets in the death overs. The bowlers are still conceding runs at the rate of 10 runs per over. Glenn Maxwell has not looked in form so far.
Top-3 match winners
Virat Kohli’s batting and his energy on the field inspired the entire team to make a comeback. In the second half, he got the support of Rajat Patidar, captain Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Karthik. Patidar scored 5 fifties this season, all of which came in the second half only. In bowling, Yash Dayal took 15 wickets in 13 matches, he made the team’s death over bowling strong. Along with Mohammad Siraj and Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh also took wickets in the second half.
RCB has lost 9 matches in the playoffs
RCB has made it to the playoffs for a record 9th time, this is the best among the top-4 teams this season. Although RCB has a bad record in the playoffs, the team played 14 matches and won only 5, losing 9. RCB has also lost 3 finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016. In the eliminator, the team played 6 matches, won 3 and lost only 3. RCB played its last playoff match in 2022, when Rajasthan defeated them by 7 wickets.
Possible-11: Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Siraj.
Impact: Swapnil Singh.
Analysis of Rajasthan Royals (RR)…
road to playoff
Rajasthan Royals (RR) won 8 out of 14 matches in IPL 2024. The team was in the top-2 of the points table but slipped to third place due to the last match being washed out due to rain. Because of this they have to play eliminator. The team that loses here will be out of the title race.
Turning Point- Due to 4 consecutive defeats, we have to play eliminator.
Rajasthan Royals started IPL 2024 as the strongest team. Royals won 8 out of the first 9 matches and remained on top with 16 points. The only defeat against Gujarat also came on the last ball. The winning percentage remained at 89% till April, then the month of May started.
Rajasthan played 5 matches in May, the team lost 4 matches one after the other. They were defeated by SRH, CSK, DC and PBKS. RR can reach the top-2 by winning the last match of the league stage against Kolkata. But this match was washed out due to rain and despite 17 points, the team remained at the third position, due to which they have to play the eliminator.
- Strength: In the middle order, Riyan Parag and Sanju Samson’s excellent form continues. The team took 24 wickets in the powerplay due to the bowling of Trent Bolt and Sandeep Sharma, which is the best among the teams playing the playoffs. Avesh, Chahal and Sandeep are creating pressure in the death overs. 6 different players were Player of the Match in 8 wins.
- Weakness- Jos Buttler will not play the playoffs, he has returned to England. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s form was also nothing special. Batting first, the team has lost its last three matches. Could take only 28 wickets in the middle overs, which is the worst among the top-4 teams.
Top-3 match winners
Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler were the players of the match 2 times each in Rajasthan’s 8 wins. Butler will not play today so more responsibility will be on Samson. The team got good support from Riyan Parag in the middle order, who has scored 531 runs this season by scoring 4 fifties. Yuzvendra Chahal is the top wicket taker of the team with 17 wickets, he also got the support of Boult, Avesh and Sandeep Sharma.
Royals could win only 4 matches in the playoffs
RR, which made it to the top-4 stage for the sixth time, is the champion of the first season in 2008. However, after this the team could play the only final in 2022. The team played a total of 9 matches in the playoff stage, winning 4 and losing 5. The team played 4 eliminators, won 2 and lost 2. In 2018, Rajasthan lost the last eliminator against Kolkata. The team last reached the playoffs in 2022, when it lost to Gujarat in the final.
Possible-11: Sanju Samson (Captain & Wicketkeeper)Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ryan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sandeep Sharma.
Impact: Tom Kohler Cadmore.
Rajasthan has defeated Bengaluru in Ahmedabad
Like Qualifier-1, the eliminator will also be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Qualifier-2 of 2022 was also played here between RCB and RR, in which Rajasthan won by 7 wickets. Rajasthan played 3 matches in Ahmedabad, won 2 and lost only one. Bengaluru played 4 matches here, won 2 and lost 2.
RCB has the upper hand in the league stage, both are equal in the playoffs
There were 30 matches between RCB and RR in IPL, Bengaluru won in 15 and Rajasthan won in 13. 2 matches also remained inconclusive. There were 28 matches between the two in the league stage, RR could win only 43% of the matches.
There were 2 matches between Bengaluru-Rajasthan in the playoff stage. In 2015, Bengaluru had won by 71 runs in the eliminator itself. Whereas in Qualifier-2 in 2022, Rajasthan won by 7 wickets. RCB will enter the eliminator with 6 consecutive wins, while RR will play the match after losing 4 consecutive matches.
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