RCB vs GT Preview, IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru aim to continue winning run against Gujarat Titans

NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are gearing up for their home match against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday.
The focus will be on RCB's experienced bowling unit, which has been in excellent form, to maintain their momentum and make their homecoming a memorable occasion.
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The Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch in Bengaluru has traditionally favored batters, with short boundaries and a quick outfield adding to the challenges for bowlers. However, RCB boasts two formidable bowlers, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have the potential to contain the opposition batters on this surface.
Hazlewood has been economical, conceding just 5.37 runs per over in the ongoing IPL, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned to the side against Chennai Super Kings, has an economy rate of 6.6.
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Their ability to bowl tight lines and lengths, coupled with Hazlewood's ability to extract disconcerting bounce and Bhuvneshwar's skill to swing the new ball, make them a potent pace duo.
RCB will be keen to prevent GT's opening pair of Shubman Gill and B. Sai Sudharsan from building a substantial partnership by utilizing the services of Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar effectively. Additionally, the left-arm pacer Yash Dayal has emerged as a dependable support bowler for the senior pacers.
While RCB's spin department, comprising Krunal Pandya and Suyansh Sharma, might appear underwhelming on paper, GT boasts two proven spinners in Rashid Khan and R Sai Kishore.

Their battle against RCB's batting lineup, including Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, and Devdutt Padikkal, will significantly impact the match's outcome.
GT's pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, who joined GT from RCB in the previous auction, will aim to make early inroads into the RCB top order, allowing the spinners to operate without excessive pressure.
Kohli and Salt have already demonstrated their ability to forge substantial partnerships, and they could be even more dangerous on the familiar Chinnaswamy pitch.
GT will rely on Rabada to strike early blows, as he has a favorable head-to-head record against Kohli in T20 cricket, dismissing him four times in 14 innings while restricting his strike rate to a respectable 113.

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (C), Jos Buttler, B. Sai Sudharshan, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Mahipal Lomror, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Manav Suthar, Washington Sundar, Gerald Coetzee, Mohmmad Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Sherfane Rutherford, R. Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Glenn Phillips, Kareem Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (C), Virat Kohli, Swastik Chikara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.
Match starts at 7.30 pm.