4.6 overs (0 Run) Bouncer this time, slower in pace, Evin shows respect and ducks. 13 from the over and Rajasthan are making full use of the Powerplay.
4.5 overs (6 Runs) SIX! Evin Lewis is looking in the mood and these are ominous signs for Bangalore. Patel drops it right in the slot for the batter, slower in pace but Lewis has picked it. He stays back and muscles it over long on. 50 up!
4.4 overs (1 Run) Another slower delivery, on a length around middle, Jaiswal plays late and works it behind square leg for a brace.
4.3 overs (1 Run) Slower one, short and around off, Lewis is a bit early into the shot but still manages to pull it well in front of square leg for a single.
4.2 overs (4 Runs) FOUR! Flashes and flashes hard! Evin Lewis is on fire. He attacks the short delivery outside off, throws his bat at it and gets it away off the outside edge again. The ball flies over short third man and finds the fence.
4.1 overs (1 Run) Harshal begins from 'round the wicket and delivers a yorker around off, Jaiswal digs it out towards extra cover and collects a single.
Harshal Patel is introduced into the attack. He replaces Glenn Maxwell.
3.6 overs (0 Run) Blazed away but not in the gap. Garton pitches it up and outside off, Lewis drives it firmly down the ground but finds the fielder at mid off. 18 from the over, Rajasthan are motoring along well.
3.5 overs (6 Runs) SIX! Boom! This is turning out to be a huge over for Rajasthan, 18 already from it. Change in pace again from George Garton. Short and slow, wide outside off, Lewis camps back and pulls it thunderously over cow corner for a biggie. The West Indian has a strike rate of 200 at the moment.
3.4 overs (4 Runs) FOUR! Garton goes short and wide outside off, slower in pace, Lewis flashes his bat at it and gets it away off the outer portion of the bat. It finds the gap between short third man and backward point for a boundary.
3.3 overs (2 Runs) Misfield from Yuzvendra Chahal! Short in length around off, Lewis pulls it powerfully towards mid-wicket where Chahal fails to stop it and the batsmen take two.
3.2 overs (0 Run) Garton goes wide of the crease and delivers it on a length outside off, Lewis shoulders arms.
3.1 overs (6 Runs) SIX! Smoked away! Evin Lewis has murdered this short ball. It's in his half, sitting up nicely for the batter, Lewis rides the bounce and hammer-pulls it over square leg for a gigantic biggie.
George Garton is back into the attack. He replaces Mohammed Siraj.
2.6 overs (0 Run) Maxwell gets away with a bad delivery. Short and wide outside off, begging to be hit, Yashasvi Jaiswal cuts it from the back foot but finds the point fielder inside the ring. 13 from the over!
2.5 overs (1 Run) Quicker and around off, again a bit short, Evin punches it towards wide mid off and crosses for a brisk run. Virat Kohli had attacked the ball but fumbled while picking it up.
2.4 overs (4 Runs) FOUR! Evin Lewis has slapped that one. Maxwell is a bit on the shorter side with his length, around off, Lewis goes deep inside the crease and punches it past the point fielder for a boundary.
2.3 overs (1 Run) Flatter and shorter on off, Jaiswal punches it to the left of extra cover for a single. A good stop from Virat Kohli.
The ball is lost in the stands. The umpires now taking a new ball from the box.
2.2 overs (6 Runs) SIX! Yashasvi Jaiswal will not hold back. Loopy ball, full and around off, Yashasvi Jaiswal gives it the full whack of his bat and hammers it over wide long on. That has gone deep into the stands.
2.1 overs (1 Run) Flighted delivery, full and around off, Evin Lewis sweeps it to deep square leg for a single.
Glenn Maxwell comes into the attack. He replaces George Garton.
1.6 overs (4 Runs) FOUR! Spoils a good over. Siraj pitches it up and around off, Yashasvi Jaiswal stays back and drills his drive through the gap at covers for a boundary - first of the match.
1.5 overs (0 Run) Shortish and around leg at 134.5 kph, Jaiswal is hurried up by the pace and fails to keep it out. It strikes him on the body and rolls on the surface.
1.4 overs (0 Run) And again. Yashasvi Jaiswal once again flashes and misses. Siraj serves it short and wide outside off, Yashasvi tries to cut from the back foot but fails to connect.
1.3 overs (0 Run) Play and a miss! Back of a length, around off and shaping away late with some extra bounce, Yashasvi Jaiswal tries to slap it through the line but it bounces over his blade.
1.2 overs (0 Run) This one is in the channel outside off, slightly short in length, Yashasvi Jaiswal has nothing to do with it.
1.1 overs (1 Run) Siraj serves it full and around off, Evin Lewis goes hard at it and drags it off the inner half. The ball rolls to the left of mid on and they take a single.
Mohammed Siraj to bowl from the other end.
0.6 over (0 Run) A low dipping yorker around off, Yashasvi Jaiswal digs it out from the bottom half of his blade. Jaiswal immediately looks at his bat. Not broken. 3 from the first over!
0.5 over (1 Run) Uppish but safe! George Garton varies his length and digs in a short one around off, Lewis takes it on and pulls it in front of square leg. Not timed well but it doesn't carry to the fielder in the deep. A single is taken.
0.4 over (0 Run) Hurls it on a length outside off, shaping away, Evin shoulders arms.
0.3 over (0 Run) Back of a length, around off at 138.8 kph, Lewis goes on the back foot and defends it down.
0.2 over (0 Run) Full toss around off, Lewis shows the full face of the bat and pushes it to mid off.
0.1 over (2 Runs) Rajasthan are away with a couple of runs. George Garton is on the shorter side with his length, it's outside off, Lewis punches it square of the wicket on the off side and gets the Rajasthan innings underway.
We are set to begin! Both the umpires walk out to the middle. The Bangalore players stride out as well after a little pep talk from their captain, Virat Kohli. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Evin Lewis are the openers for Rajasthan. The debutant, George Garton to start off the proceedings with the ball. Here we go...
Rajasthan (Playing XI) - Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C/WK), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Kartik Tyagi (In place of Jaydev Unadkat), Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman.
Bangalore (Playing XI) - Virat Kohli (C), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (WK), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Dan Christian, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, George Garton (On debut) (In place of Kyle Jamieson), Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sanju Samson, the captain of Rajasthan, says that they were ready to do both. Feels that the pitch is looking good and a lot of teams have batted first and won. Adds that as a team they were a bit down and had a meeting last evening where they revisited the purpose of playing this game. Shares that they want to put on a good show for the fans. Regarding their XI, Sanju informs that Kartik Tyagi comes back in, replacing Jaydev Unadkat.
Virat Kohli, the Bangalore skipper, says that the pitch remained the same in the last game. Tells that he wants to provide his bowlers with good conditions upfront. Further says that he asked the boys to be brave and that was shown both with the bat and ball in the last game. Wants to take that momentum from the last bowling innings to this bowling innings. On his personal form, Kohli replies that he is feeling confident about his batting and is in a good space. He is looking forward to contributing as much as he can. Informs that Kyle Jamieson has been replaced by George Garton who is an exciting bowler, can bat a bit as well and is a gun fielder.
Toss - Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson exchange pleasantries in the middle. Up goes the coin, Kohli calls Heads and it has come down as Heads. BANGALORE ELECT TO BOWL FIRST!
Pitch report - Anjum Chopra is near the surface and says that the pitch is looking a lot different and it is a hot evening in Dubai. Mentions that for a left-hander, the off side boundary is on the shorter side. Matthew Hayden is also there and informs that it is a new pitch and terms it a high-quality wicket with a lot of grass on it. Adds that the deck is very hard and it's a good sign. The Aussie feels that this pitch will hold up quite nicely and will be pretty good for batting.
The spin-bowling woes! We all know that the spinners have been an integral part of every team in this format and have made a big difference. But for Rajasthan, the performance of their spinners has been abysmal. They have a poor average of 79.83 this season and have picked just 6 wickets. This is by far the worst show by the Rajasthan spinners across years and that's hurting them. To compound their misery, the Rajasthan bowlers in total have managed to pick only 5 wickets against Bangalore since 2020. Clearly, the struggle is evident. As far as matchups are concerned, Shreyas Gopal is one name that can feature in this game as he holds the upper hand against the likes of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli - hunting them down on 7 occasions combined. Will the leggie find a place?
Last meeting - It was a thorough thrashing for Rajasthan by 10 wickets when they last met Bangalore. Despite a decent batting effort to post 177 on the board, they were taken down mercilessly by Devdutt Padikkal's fabulous century and his unbeatable opening stand with Virat Kohli. What's in store this time around?
The head-to-head stats suggest that it's been always a close contest between Rajasthan and Bangalore. Nothing much to choose from in a scoreline of 11-10 but in the last three encounters, Bangalore have registered emphatic wins. With Bangalore rediscovering their form and ending the UAE jinx in the last game, they can be counted as favourites.
Battle of survival! This is how it's going to be for Rajasthan this evening as they lock horns against Bangalore. Hello and welcome to everyone for the coverage of Match 43 of this season's Indian T20 League from Dubai. The race to the playoffs has reached its final stage and with the top two spots almost sealed, time is running out for Rajasthan. With Kolkata and Mumbai winning their respective games on Tuesday, the pressure is on Rajasthan to win this game otherwise they will fall behind in this mad race of qualification. The stakes are high this Wednesday evening and let's hope for an entertaining clash.
... MATCH DAY ...
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