3 player battles to watch out for in RR vs RCB, Eliminator of IPL 2024 ft. Virat Kohli vs Trent Boult

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) will face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2024 Eliminator at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, May 22. The two teams are coming into the fixture with contrasting forms.

RR won eight out of their first nine games and were comfortably on their way to finish on top of the table. However, they lost their next four games on the bounce, and their final league game was washed out due to rain, meaning they had to be content with a third-place finish.

RCB, on the other hand, have arguably had one of the best comeback stories in the history of the IPL. After losing seven out of their first eight games, Bengaluru won their next six on the bounce, including a thrilling win over the Chennai Super Kings to enter the playoffs.

While one team hasn't seen a win in a long time and the other is just brimming with confidence, the Eliminator is still a fresh slate and both sides have world-class match-winners who on their day could turn the game on its head.

On that note, let's take a look at three match-ups between these players that could decide who would be heading to Chennai for Qualifier 2.

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#3 Rajat Patidar vs Yuzvendra Chahal

Rajat Patidar's turnaround in form has been one of the main reasons why RCB find themselves on a six-match winning streak. He has scored 361 runs in 14 games at an outstanding strike rate of 179.60 and has been the fulcrum in that middle order.

Patidar's ability to take on the spinners and hit sixes almost at will made a major difference in RCB's scoring rate in the middle overs. He will be expected to perform a similar role against RR's Yuzvendra Chahal in the Eliminator.

Chahal has conceded 18 runs in the nine balls he has bowled to Patidar in T20 cricket. However, the veteran leg-spinner has the most wickets in the history of the IPL for a reason and that is that he is smart enough to adapt according to the situation. It will be interesting to see his plans for countering Patidar's spin-bashing.

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#2 Sanju Samson vs Mohammed Siraj

Another RCB player who has found some form at the right time is Mohammed Siraj. After being dropped for a game, Siraj's comeback has been magnificent and has been providing that cutting edge with wickets upfront.

Siraj also has a favorable match-up against RR captain Sanju Samson and that would give the Royal Challengers some real boost. Samson has scored just 36 runs off 31 balls from Siraj in T20s and has been dismissed as many as three times. The Royals need their captain to counter the match-up and score big.

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#1 Virat Kohli vs Trent Boult

With a staggering 708 runs already, RCB star Virat Kohli is at the top of the run-scoring charts this season and arguably Bengaluru's biggest hope going into the Eliminator. RR will know that they need to get the big fish early on and their best chance is arguably Trent Boult with the new ball.

Boult has dismissed Kohli once in the IPL for a golden duck, but the star batter has also scored 69 runs from 54 balls faced. Mitchell Starc's performance in Qualifier 1 showed that there's swing available under lights in Ahmedabad. If Boult can find his best up front, he could cause massive issues for Kohli and other RCB batters.