IPL 2022: RCB vs RR live-stream, squad, timings and everything you need to know about opening match

Match Details:
Date & Time: 26th April at 7:30 PM IST and Local Time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals will feature in the 39th match of the IPL 2022 on Tuesday. It will be the second match between them, this season. RCB won the last match against RR by 4 wickets, after chasing a target of 170 runs in 19.1 overs. They have currently won 5 out of 8 matches and are placed at the fifth position in the points table. RCB faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous match as they managed to score only 68 runs.

The Rajasthan Royals have been in great form in the tournament and have been able to win 5 out of 7 matches. They are currently placed at the third position in the points tally, however, a win in this match might help them climb to the top position. The Royals have won their last 2 matches and would be looking to make it three in a row.

Pitch Report:

In 6 matches that have been played at this venue, the teams batting first and second have won 3 games each. A used surface was used in the last game and it had a nice covering of grass. The pitch is expected to remain balanced and the team winning the toss might look to bowl.

Head to head: RCB and RR faced each other in 26 IPL matches, with RCB winning 13 and RR winning 10 (Three of these matches ended in a no-result).

Here are the stats related to the match: 

1 – Yuzvendra Chahal needs one more wicket to overtake Piyush Chawla and become the second-highest wicket-takers among spinners in the IPL. Only Amit Mishra has more wickets among spinners.

1 – R Ashwin needs one more wicket to reach 150 wickets in the IPL. He will become the second off-spinner to the milestone, after Harbhajan Singh.

2 – Jos Buttler scored hundreds in both his last two matches, becoming only the second player to do it in the Indian Premier League, after Shikhar Dhawan.

3 – Yuzvendra Chahal needs to pick three more wickets to overtake Shreyas Gopal and have the most wickets by a spinner for Rajasthan Royals in an IPL season.

9 – Runs needed by Jos Buttler to become the first player to score 500 runs this season. If he reaches there, he will become the joint-fastest player to 500 runs in an IPL season, along with Virat Kohli in 2016. He will become the second overseas player to score 500+ IPL runs for Rajasthan Royals in a season, after Shane Watson in 2013.

Probable Playing XI:

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Anuj Rawat, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj.

Rajasthan Royals

Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Karun Nair, Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, Obed McCoy, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.