3 player battles to watch out for in RR vs RCB, Match 28 of IPL 2025 ft. Virat Kohli
The 28th match of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) will witness a clash between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). RR are set to play their first match at home, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
While RCB are placed in the top half of the points table, securing the fourth position, RR are languishing in the other half, at the seventh spot. While the Rajat Patidar-led side have three wins and two losses from five games, Sanju Samson and Co. have two wins and three losses.
With two of the top IPL teams all set to go head-to-head, here’s looking at three player battles to watch out for in the contest:
#3 Krunal Pandya (Bowler) vs Riyan Parag (Batter)
Krunal Pandya is in good form heading into the contest against Rajasthan and is among the top wicket-takers in the tournament. He couldn’t manage to pick up a wicket in RCB’s previous outing against Delhi, and conceded runs at an economy of 9.50, leaking 19 runs in just two overs.
Riyan Parag too is in good form with the bat, having contributed with crucial knocks for his side whenever needed. He has 135 runs from five matches with a strike rate of 160.71 and an unbeaten 43 being his best so far.
While the Assam cricketer has performed brilliantly against pace, he’s struggled against spin, and the RCB spinners will have a task at hand when Parag walks out to bat. Pandya has been successful in providing his side with the breakthrough post-powerplay, and that’s where this battle will take off.
Though Pandya has never dismissed Parag in T20s, the latter has notched 27 runs in 29 deliveries of five innings against the Baroda cricketer.
#2 Josh Hazlewood (Bowler) vs Yashasvi Jaiswal (Batter)
Josh Hazlewood has picked up eight wickets in five games so far and is a regular in RCB’s lineup. He has maintained decent statistics this season and will open the attack for RCB alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar as they take on RR.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, meanwhile, has had a topsy-turvy campaign this season. He’s performed outstandingly in some games, and has fallen cheaply in some outings, making him a prospect against the new-ball bowlers of the opposition team.
Jaiswal’s record against Hazlewood has been brilliant, having scored 38 runs in the 13 deliveries faced against him in just two innings. The Aussie has dismissed the Indian opener once in these outings.
#1 Jofra Archer (Bowler) vs Virat Kohli (Batter)
Jofra Archer’s comeback after a disastrous start to his campaign has been noteworthy, and something that has been most talked about. He’s now one of the go-to bowlers for the RR skipper and will be expected to do well against RCB’s star-studded top-order.
Virat Kohli, meanwhile, has also struggled in the previous few outings and hasn’t gotten many runs under his belt. Nonetheless, he’s performed well against Archer and would want to find his form back when he faces the Englishman.
In nine T20 innings, Kohli has faced 66 deliveries and scored 86 runs against Archer, with the RR pacer failing to dismiss him even once in these outings.