Royal Challengers Bengaluru square off against Rajasthan Royals in Match No. 42 of the ongoing IPL 2025 season in Bengaluru. RCB are 4th on the points table with five wins and three defeats from eight matches. They are coming into this contest on the back of a massive seven-wicket win against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on Sunday. The Rajat Patidar-led RCB have not won a home game this season. They would want to change that on Thursday and pick the desired momentum.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Royals are almost out of the playoff race. They only have two wins from eight games, and are stationed at No. 8 on the points table.
Sanju Samson will miss the RCB clash due to an injury, as Riyan Parag will continue to lead as interim skipper. RR suffered a thrilling two-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants in their most recent fixture, which was held at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
RR and RCB met on April 13 this season. RCB tamed RR by nine wickets in that clash. RCB chased a 174-run target in just 17.3 overs. RCB will aim for the double against RR, who will aim to be party spoilers, having not much to lose. The two sides have met on 33 occasions. RCB have won 16 games to RR’s 14. Three matches saw no results.
Here are the key player battles from the RCB vs RR contest at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Sandeep Sharma vs Virat Kohli
This could be a fascinating battle between two veterans of the game. RCB legend Virat Kohli has had troubles facing the medium pace offered by Sandeep Sharma in the IPL. Kohli, who is the top scorer in IPL history, has been in strong form this season, and he will aim to keep RR’s Sandeep at bay and work on producing the goods. As per ESPNcricinfo, across 17 innings in the IPL, Sandeep has dismissed Kohli on 7 occasions and is aiming to get the batter out for the 8th time. Kohli averages 16.57 against the right-arm pacer and owns a strike rate of 143.20. He has scored 116 runs from 81 balls in this duel. He has smashed Sandeep for 15 fours and a six, in addition to facing 25 dots. Notably, Kohli owns 322 runs at 64.40 in IPL 2025.
Jofra Archer vs Phil Salt
Jofra Archer has been RR’s best bowler in the power play this season with 6 wickets and an economy rate under 9. He will have his task cut out against Phil Salt. The RCB opener milked Archer when the two faced off on April 13, which was their first meeting in the IPL. In that contest, Archer conceded 21 runs off 10 balls. Salt, who scored a half-century, smashed 2 sixes and 2 fours off Archer. He struck at 210. Archer will hope he comes out strongly and thwarts the approach of Salt, who is ultra-aggressive and vicious. Across 48 innings, Archer has taken 23 wickets inside the power play. He averages 22.56. On the other hand, Salt owns a strike rate of 178.01 in the PP overs from 27 innings. He averages 34.76 in addition to being dismissed 17 times.
Josh Hazlewood vs Yashasvi Jaiswal
RCB pacer Josh Hazlewood has been in good form this season in the IPL. He has managed 12 scalps from 8 matches at 20.16. Hazlewood will fancy the battle against young RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. The southpaw has been amongst the runs of late, scoring 307 runs this season at 38-plus. He has smashed 4 fifties from 8 innings. Notably, the two have enjoyed their battle in the IPL. Across three innings, Hazlewood has dismissed Jaiswal twice. In return, the batter has scored 55 runs from 21 balls, striking at 261.90. He averages 27.50 against the Aussie star. Jaiswal has hit the pacer for 4 sixes and 6 fours in addition to facing six dot balls.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Riyan Parag
Bhuvneshwar Kumar will bring plenty of experience to the table. He is on the verge of becoming the 2nd-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. Bhuvi, who has done a fair job in IPL 2025 for his new side RCB, will test RR’s stand-in skipper Riyan Parag. However, while digging deep, Bhuvi has had no success against Parag, conceding 36 runs from 17 balls (SR: 211.76) across 3 IPL innings. He has been hit for 2 sixes and 4 fours. Overall vs the Royals, Bhuvi has claimed 19 wickets at 32.63. On the other hand, Parag has managed a tally of 176 runs from 7 innings against the Challengers at 29.33.
Maheesh Theekshana vs Rajat Patidar
This will be another enticing battle. Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana will be trying to make his presence felt by keeping RCB skipper Rajat Patidar quiet. Patidar is an excellent player of spin and can thwart the Royals. Former CSK spinner Theekshana has bowled to Patidar across 2 IPL innings. He has conceded 15 runs from 8 balls. Patidar has struck at 187.50 in this duel. He has hit one six and a four. Theekshana will be keen to be impactful by bowling tight lengths and making Patidar work.
