Statistics don’t lie: Virat Kohli is unlikely to open the bat for RCB against RR.Here’s Why | Cricket News

As Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) prepares to take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a thrilling Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Jaipur, all eyes are on star batsman Vi In Rat Kohli, he single-handedly produced a star. So far, the team’s batting line-up, while dynamic, has been inconsistent. RR, who are unbeaten in three games, will take on RCB at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The Blue and Gold are aiming to improve on their win-loss record this season, which has seen them win just one of four games so far. While the bowling performance has been lackluster, the most disappointing part of the season so far has been the team’s star-studded line-up, which includes captain Faf du Plessis, Virat, Glenn Maxwell, Raja Te Patidar, Cameron Green and Dinesh Karthik, they didn’t stick together.

Virat is RCB’s only hope in an otherwise dull season so far. In four games, he scored 203 runs at an average of 67.66 with a strike rate of nearly 141 and two half-centuries. His best score is 83*. He is the holder of the orange cap in most games so far this season.

But every time Virat faces off against the Pink Superman, there are some worrying trends. While the Sawai Mansingh Stadium was excellent for Virat as an international cricketer, he failed to replicate his international numbers in the IPL at this stadium.

In three international matches here, Virat has scored 195 runs at an average of 97.50 and one hundred fifties. He scored just 52 balls against Australia in October 2013 but was still the fastest Indian in ODIs.

But Royals curbed Virat’s record-breaking habits at this stadium. In Virat’s eight games in the IPL, he has scored just 149 runs at an average of 21.29 and a strike rate of just over 94. His best score here is 39*, and he has yet to score 50 and 100 points here. Virat is here. In his last game against RR at this stadium, he scored just 18 out of 19 balls. Among all the venues where he batted at least eight innings in his IPL career, he has the worst batting average in Jaipur.

RR pacer Sandeep Sharma also enjoyed immense dominance over the Indian star, who otherwise takes pleasure in taking to the skies with his fast bowling. The two have met 15 times in the IPL, with Virat scoring 87 runs off 67 balls against Sandeep but he was dismissed by the bowlers seven times.

His strike rate against Sandeep was a measly 12.42 and his strike rate was 129.85. He hit just 11 fours and six against the veteran in 67 balls, including 25 runs scored.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat(w), Mayank Dagar, Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Mahipal Lomror, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Vijaykumar Vishak, Swapnil Singh, Tom Curran, Rocky Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Will Jacks, Ma Noj Bandage, Akash Deep, Saurav Chauhan, Rajan Kumar, Himanshu Sharma

Rajasthan Royals lineup:Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rovman Powell, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Sen, Shubham Dubey, Abid Mushtaq, Kunal Singh Rathore, Donovan Ferreira, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Keshav Maharaj, Navdeep · Saini, Sandeep Sharma.

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