Pitch report by Matthew Hayden:
“This place is a colosseum. But the ground dimensions aren’t quite that big. 77m down the ground, and the pockets are a bit bigger. It’s so hot. Groundsman had a real tricky task to do here. There’s no cracks here whatsoever. Great even cover of grass. Batting is going to be really good. 170-175 will be a good score here.”
“They both want it badly, and it will be a battle of the royals”
Ravi Shastri expects a cracker of a contest between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2022, which begins in an hour’s time today.
“The only way you could get better is by making mistakes and failing in front of people’. And that’s what I’ve always done all through my life.”
Rajasthan Royals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who’s enjoying a fine run both with ball and bat this season, recalls valuable advice given to him by formerIndia head coach Duncan Fletcher.
Ten years ago on this very day, Manvinder Bisla became a hero in the eyes of the Kolkata Knight Riders fans as he smashed a 48-ball 89 in the IPL 2012 final against Chennai Super Kings, setting up a five-wicket victory as the Kolkata-based franchise won the first of their two titles, both of which came under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy.
While Rajasthan Royals haven’t reached the final since winning the inaugural edition in 2008, Royal Challengers Bangalore have reached the final thrice — in 2009, 2011 and 2016 — and are among the few teams yet to win the league.
Ahead of the Qualifier 2 showdown between these two teams, we take a look at how these two sides have fared in the IPL playoffs over the years. Click on the links below for more:
Royal Challengers Bangalore went one step ahead and broke the Eliminator jinx by beating debutants Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens to reach Qualifier 2. The victory brings with it, a winning momentum for RCB, which will be an uphill task for Rajasthan Royals, who finally are among the big boys of the league. This is their best season in the last four years. In the previous three seasons, they had failed to qualify for the playoffs and not just that, they finished second from the bottom twice and bottom once in those three years.
Click here to read the RR vs RCB IPL 2022 Qualifier 2 preview
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Qualifier 2 of Indian Premier League 2022, with RR taking on RCB in a ‘Royal’ battle at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad — the first time match of the season at the venue.