Indian T20 League 2023

BLR vs RAJ, 32nd Match

Preview

The 32nd Game of the Indian T20 League will be played between BLR and RAJ in the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, 23rd April 2023, at 07:30 PM IST.

BLR's season has been marked by 3 victories and 3 losses in 6 games. Despite occasional flashes of brilliance, they need more consistency with the bat and the ball. They aim to be more consistent with their performances, but winning in the previous game would have soothed the nerves a little. 

Regarding batting first, BLR had a fantastic showing, with Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis putting up a 100-run partnership for the first wicket. The middle order, however, could not build on this start since they could not raise the score over 174. With 84 runs in 56 balls, Faf du Plessis was the leading run-scorer.

The bowlers needed to get off to a strong start as they were defending a low score. And they did just that, taking 4 wickets during the batting powerplay, but they still leaked unexpected runs in the middle overs. As a result, they could bowl out the opponents for 150 runs and win by a margin of 24 runs. Mohammad Siraj excelled himself by taking 4 wickets for 21 runs. Siraj and Faf are current holders of the league's Purple and Orange Cap, respectively.

RAJ has seemed the most remarkable and steady at practically halfway through the league. However, they will feel that they lost out on a victory by failing to chase what appeared to be a lesser target in the previous game. 

The RAJ would have been delighted with how the bowlers bowled in the powerplay after winning the toss and opting to field first. It was a fantastic bowling performance to hold the LUC to 154 runs. The best bowler was Ravichandran Ashwin, who took 2 wickets only for 23 runs in 4 overs.

The batting team failed miserably because they made the chase 10 times harder. Despite a fantastic start from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, they suffered greatly due to a slow approach. Yashasvi Jaiswal led the team in scoring with 44 runs off of 35 balls, but it wasn't enough to win the RAJ.

Match Details

Match: BLR vs RAJ, 32nd Match, IND T20 League 2023

Date: Sunday, April 23, 2023

Time: 03:30 PM

Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Pitch and Weather Report 

The toss-winning team will want to bowl first. It is a well-known fact that the side batting second will benefit from this pitch. Chasing is significantly easier because of the small boundaries, excellent batting surface, and lively outfield. 

There are no indications of any rain, making the weather ideal for a game of cricket. The highest and lowest temperatures will be between 34°C and 21°C.

BLR vs RAJ Squads

BLR: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Wayne Parnell, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj, Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Akash Deep, Karn Sharma, Anuj Rawat, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Finn Allen, Siddarth Kaul, Sonu Yadav, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Himanshu Sharma

RAJ: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Riyan Parag, Donavon Ferreira, KM Asif, Joe Root, Murugan Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Akash Vasisht, KC Cariappa, Obed McCoy, Kuldip Yadav, Abdul Basith, Kunal Singh Rathore, Trent Boult

BLR vs RAJ Probable Playing XIs

BLR: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (C), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Wanindu Hasaranga, Suyash Prabhudessai, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohammed Siraj

RAJ: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

Match Prediction

With four victories in six games, the RAJ now leads the table and seems one of the best teams in this year's league. They will seek to regain their momentum and resume a winning streak after a defeat. Conversely, BLR has played some solid attacking cricket while being inconsistent. They hope to extend their winning run and move up the points table now that their bowling is improving.

We think BLR will win against RAJ in this game.

Top Fantasy Picks

Former Captain Virat Kohli will probably be in batting action again on the pitch. This season has seen him score four half-centuries thus far. On the Chinnaswamy Ground, he’ll be lethal to the RAJ bowlers.

Right-arm medium pacer Mohammed Siraj has excelled throughout this league. In the game on Thursday, he unrootedAtharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Harpreet Brar, and Nathan Ellis. He’s the Purple Cap Holder of the Indian T20 League 2023 right now and can give you some crucial early wickets for your fantasy team.

English top-order batsman Jos Buttler who has scored 244 runs throughout the competition, always exudes a sense of ease at the wicket. The Bengaluru pitch is always suited for the batters, so he’ll be dangerous for BLR if he gets set on the pitch.

Trent Boult is the nightmare for the top-order batters in this league, as he has had two maiden-wicket overs till now. His inswingers to the righty batters make him challenging to play. However, if he’s able to strike early against the in-form BLR opening duo, he’ll be the MVP of the game.

Risky Captaincy Choice

Sanju Samson/Glenn Maxwell - Both batters can destroy the bowling lineup of the opposition team, but they both are facing the same issue this season: inconsistency. If they both find their rhythm in this game, they’ll be unstoppable for the bowlers.

Suggested Playing XI Real11 Fantasy Cricket

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