The 49th game of the IPL will be played between Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur, and it will be one of the most vital games of the tournament so far. The reason behind it is that the winner of the match will almost seal their berth for the semi-finals, whereas the side losing the game could crash out of the tournament.
There is hardly anything to choose from between the teams lying second to sixth in the points table, and all have 12 points from 12 games. However, given the manner in which the Rajasthan Royals (11/10 at Boylesports) have performed after the comeback of Shane Watson (7/2 at Sky Bet to be the best batsman of the side), as compared to the consistent capitulation of Royal Challengers Bangalore (5/6 at Ladbrokes), my money will be on the hosts.
Ladbrokes offers 7/2 for Michael Lumb to come good for this game, and to me, it does look that for the side to resume their winning spree, it will need their openers to fire. Naman Ojha (4/1 at Ladbrokes to top-score for his side) is amongst the top five scorers in the tournament so far, and will be another man to look out for, while Yusuf Pathan’s extreme nature of form will mean that it becomes difficult to predict about whether or not he will top-score for his side (9/2 at Blue Square to top-score for the Royals)
The Royal Challengers Bangalore’s skipper Anil Kumble had criticised his best batsman, Jacques Kallis (9/4 at Bet Fred to top-score for his side), but I think it was an attempt to rev him up for this important game. It will be interesting to see the approach that Kallis takes for this match, but to me, it is also necessary the Kumble brings in Kevin Pietersen (9/2 at Blue Square to be the best batsman for his side) in place of Cameron White.
The other key batsman will be Robin Uthappa (5/1 at Boylesports to top-score for his side), and his captain will expect him to continue with his dazzling form in this game.
Tips:
Favourites: Rajasthan Royals (11/10 at Boylesports)
Top Rajasthan batsman: Shane Watson (7/2 at Sky Bet)
Top Bangalore batsman: Jacques Kallis (9/4 at Sky Bet)