IPL 2018 RR vs RCB: 5 player battles to look forward to between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore

The afternoon game today is a virtual knockout between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore and needless to say, the weekend fixtures are getting underway with a high-voltage clash.

However, RCB will hold the advantage in this game, not only because they are coming off an excellent win in their previous game but also because of the fact that RR’s stars Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes have departed for England.

The Jos Buttler sized hole at the top of the order would be tough to fill and the other RR batsmen would need to lift their game if they are to give themselves the chance of making it to the playoffs. That being said, RR are not going to give an inch to their opponents and due to the high stakes nature of the game, a close contest can be expected.

The game will also see some explosive individual battles and here is a look at 5 of the most important ones.

#5 Rahul Tripathi vs Tim Southee

The RR batsman has been a victim of poor handling this season in the IPL. Rahul Tripathi’s performance as an opener for last year’s finalist Rising Pune Supergiant was a big factor in the team’s success and it was no surprise when RR paid Rs. 3.4 crores for his services.

However, instead of sending him to open he was played in the middle-order and in RR’s last game, he seems to have got back his position. In the absence of Buttler, he would have to come good today against RCB and his battle against Tim Southee is going to be a very important one.

The Kiwi has shored up the RCB attack and his opening spell to Tripathi is going to be an entertaining one, if not anything else. Tripathi will try to go after him and it is going to be interesting to see what strategy Southee adopts against him. If the former can get on top of the latter, then it would be a big boost for the home side.