IPL 2018: 3 key battles that will decide who wins in the RCB vs RR clash
After a gap of two years, Royal Challengers Bangalore host Rajasthan Royals at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium. Both teams have won a game each and will look forward to carrying the momentum. The matches between these two sides are keenly contested with the Red Army having a slight edge, with RCB winning 8 while the Royals have won7. In their rivalry, neither team has managed to win three consecutive games against each other.
In this edition of the IPL, Rajasthan is the only team who have won after defending a total. Although it was a rain-curtailed match, the team from Jaipur managed to stop the likes of Glen Maxwell, Rishabh Pant, and Chris Morris from chasing.
Like Delhi, RCB also have big hitters in Brendan McCullum, De Kock, and AB De Villers. It will be an exciting contest between Rajasthan's bowling and the Red Army's batting.
Here are the three key battles that will decide who comes on top:
#3 Chris Woakes vs Ben Stokes
The battle between the two Englishmen promises to be an exciting one. Last season, Ben Stokes was the most valuable player for Pune, and this year the visiting team grabbed him for a whopping Rs. 12.5 crore. On the other hand, Kohli's team picked up Chris Woakes to strengthen their fragile bowling unit.
Stokes had a poor start in the IPL and was dismissed for just five runs against SRH. The 26-year-old batsman started off well against DD, but he could not convert it into a big score. Notably, on both occasions, he was dismissed by a pacer.
The pitch in Bangalore is known to be a batting paradise and will help Stokes play the big shots. He will be up against Chris Woakes who bowls at a quick pace, with speeds touching 140 kph mark, and also hits the deck hard.
The RCB bowler had a poor outing versus Punjab with KL Rahul smashing him all over the park. For him to have any chance to pick up the wicket of Stokes, he needs to use his variations and not allow his fellow Englishman to settle. But with smaller a boundary and a license to hit, the scales are slightly tilted in Stoke's favor, to come out on top.