The RCB vs RR match which happens to be the first game of the 'Super Saturday' double header is scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm (IST) with the toss slated to be held at 3:00 PM (IST).
Third-placed RCB would like to put behind their tantalizingly close defeat to Kings Eleven Punjab (KXIP) and get back to winning ways against Rajasthan Royals who were also handed a 13-run defeat by Delhi Capitals in their previous outing.
The RCB batting unit has performed quite consistently in the first half of the tournament with opener Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, skipper Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers all having runs under their belt.
Proteas seam all-rounder Chris Morris lends balance and depth to the squad. The bowling has offered variety with a tearaway speedster in Navdeep Saini, a hit the deck bowler in Chris Morris and Lankan medium pacer Isuru Udana who is a master with his subtle variations.
The RCB spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar will once again be at the center of action during the middle overs and at the fag end of the innings.
Rajasthan Royals have been a bit up and down with their performances in the opening half of the season. While they have the arsenal to beat the best teams on their day, they have been found wanting for consistency and have choked when put under pressure.
After the initial fireworks at Sharjah, Royals have found the going tough with skipper Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler and Robin Uttappa falling repeatedly to some reckless shots. The inclusion of Ben Stokes has added certainly added depth to the team but overdependence on the English all-rounder could add to Smith and Co's troubles.
Jofra Archer will once again be the strike weapon with the ball for the Royals. The tearaway English seamer would need requisite support from one of Karthik Tyagi, Jaydev Unadkat or Varun Aaron. The spin department has fared pretty well for the Royals with both Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia doing a tidy job in the middle overs.
The last time these two teams faced off in the ongoing 13th edition of the IPL, Kohli and Co. trounced RR by eight wickets in Abu Dhabi.
Here are the squads for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020:
RCB: Virat Kohli (Captain), AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Aaron Finch, Josh Philippe, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn, Pawan Negi, Isuru Udana, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Adam Zampa
RR: Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Andrew Tye, Kartik Tyagi, Steven Smith (Captain), Ankit Rajpoot, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Mahipal Lomror, Oshane Thomas, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, Akash Singh, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Shashank Singh, Varun Aaron, Tom Curran, Robin Uthappa, Aniruddha Joshi, Jofra Archer