RCB vs RR: 3 closest encounters

The Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Rajasthan Royals will renew their rivalry in match #15 of the Dream 11 IPL. The teams have had good seasons so far with both franchises securing four points from three games.

RCB and RR have played each other 21 times in IPL history. RR has a slight advantage in the head-to-head, having won ten of these encounters while Virat Kohli's men have won eight. Three encounters between the two sides have ended with no results.

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲? Accepted. ✅All eyes on #RCBvRR. 💪#HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily pic.twitter.com/Xd68zLW1uW

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) October 2, 2020

IPL 2020 is turning out to be a closely-contested season. Both teams will be looking to secure two valuable points as the race for the playoffs gets underway.

Before the two teams take the field, we look at three of their closest encounters in the previous editions of the IPL.

3) Match 14, IPL 2019: RR beat RCB by seven wickets

A royal victory [Pc: IPLT20.com]

Final Scores:

• RCB: 158/4 (20 overs)
• RR: 164/3 (20 overs)

RCB had a disastrous start to their 2019 campaign, losing their first six matches on the trot.

Despite having six wickets in hand, RCB failed to accelerate towards the back end of their innings, which ultimately led to their downfall. The dangerous duo of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers managed just 36 runs off 34 balls before they both fell to Shreyas Gopal.

The Rajasthan Royals assessed the Sawai Mansingh Stadium better as they paced their innings smartly. They focussed on stability over aggression as they built the chase sensibly. With 34 required off the last four overs, RCB may have thought they had an outside chance of breaking their losing streak.

M Siraj leaked 16 runs in the 17th over to put an end to RCB's wishful thinking. Despite winning with just one ball to spare, RR never really looked in trouble as Jos Buttler was RR's batting mainstay with an impressive 59 (43).

2) Match 40, IPL 2013: RR beat RCB by four wickets

All-round spectacle [Pc: IPLT20.com]

Final Scores:

• RCB: 171/6 (20 overs)
• RR: 173/6 (20 overs)

No RCB batsmen score reached 35 runs as wickets tumbled at regular intervals. RCB was 149/6 at the end of the 19th over but Vinay Kumar plundered 22 runs in the last over bowled by Faulkner to end RCB's innings on a high. Shane Watson's bowling figures (22-3 in his four overs) kept the RCB batsmen in check.

Shane Watson returned with the bat to score 41 (31). Along with Sanju Samson's 63 (41), RR stole the game away from RCB.

At one point, RR needed 30 off the last three overs, setting up an interesting match. Brad Hodge struck some lusty blows in the 18th over to bring the chase down to 13 off the last two overs. RP Singh gave away 7 runs and got the wicket of Shane Watson in the 19th over to leave RR needing 6 runs in the final over.

Vinay Kumar bowled the final over and struck in back-to-back deliveries to leave RR needing 4 runs off the last 3 deliveries. A single added to the drama as RCB were right back in the game. Unfortunately, Stuart Binny managed to pull the penultimate ball to the boundary to hand the Bangalore franchise another heartbreaking loss.

1) Match #49, IPL 2019: No result

Fight till the end[Pc: IPLT20.com]

Final scores:

• RCB: 62/7 (5 overs)
• RR: 41/1 (3.2 overs)

Despite having no result, this encounter was undoubtedly a memorable one. Fans of both franchises will remember it as the game that knocked both teams out of IPL 2019.

Languishing at the bottom, both teams had less than ideal seasons. However, they both had an outside chance of qualifying for the playoffs if they bagged two points in this game. The heavy rains played spoiler as the game looked likely to be washed away.

Luckily, the rain-gods relented and a 5-over match was allowed. Virat Kohli provided his team with a flying start (25 off 7) as his team finally ended up at 62/7 after their five overs.

In response, RR raced to 40/0 in three overs. Chahal came out to bowl the fourth over, conceding a single before making Sanju Samson hole-out to Pawan Negi. With 22 runs required off ten balls, both teams would have fancied their chances.

As RR's captain Steve Smith walked out to bat, the rains returned to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, bringing the match to an abrupt end.

Each team would have felt slighted as they ultimately missed out on the IPL playoffs by a single point (their poor NRR might still have been an issue).

Final preparations done ✅ Challenge Accepted! 💪🏻#PlayBold #IPL2020 #WeAreChallengers #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/mnyIaxnfG1

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) October 2, 2020

With their last game ending on a cliff-hanger, it will be interesting to see who will be victorious in the first afternoon game of IPL 2020. The weather will be the opposite of what it was that night in Bangalore, and we will most likely have a cracker of a contest.