IPL 2025 Match 42 : Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Rajasthan Royals - Cricket Betting Tips and Picks from Experts – Pre-Play and In-Play - April 24

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will clash with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 42 of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday. RCB have won five of their eight matches this season and are currently sitting pretty at number 3 on the table. While all the focus has been on their batting unit, it is their bowling which has done a tremendous job this season – RCB are the second-most restrictive bowling unit of the competition.

The Royals have struggled this season and failed to build any sort of momentum into their campaign. They have lost four matches in a row and with six losses in eight encounters overall, are staring down the barrel in the tournament. It is a do or die battle for them in Bengaluru. Royals have had it tough with the bat and ball this season. While their openers have failed to provide a ballistic start at the top of the order, their bowling has lacked penetration and wicket-taking propensity and has the worst bowling strike rate in the competition. To make matters worse, RR will be without the services of their skipper, Sanju Samson, who has been ruled out of the encounter due to injury.

RCB hammered RR by nine wickets in their first fixture this season in Jaipur. Chasing 173, Phil Salt gave the Challengers a rollicking start and Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal then anchored the chase cantering to victory with two and a half overs to spare.

We look at the rivalry between the two franchises, the players to watch out for and the match-ups, the numbers which stand out in the different phases of play and who is likely to come out triumphant in the high-octane encounter.

But before going any further, check out who will be the favourites and maybe take 1,000 freebets from 1win

IPL 2025 Match 42 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Rajasthan Royals

Head to Head
MATCHES – 32
RCB WON – 16
RR WON – 14
NR - 2



Probable Playing XIs

RCB: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Romario Shepherd, 6 Jitesh Sharma, 7 Tim David, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Yash Dayal, 12 Suyash Sharma

RR: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 3 Riyan Parag, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Shubham Dubey, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Tushar Deshpande, 12 Sandeep Sharma




Players To Watch Out For

Virat Kohli (RCB)
Virat Kohli is the leading run-getter for RCB this season with an aggregate of 322 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 140. He has been extremely consistent, registering four fifties thus far in the season. Kohli’s highest impact performance came against Punjab Kings when he smashed an unbeaten 73 off just 54 deliveries helping RCB gun down 157 with seven deliveries to spare. Kohli’s play against spin has improved significantly and he has a strike rate of 141.2 against their ilk this season.

Josh Hazlewood (RCB)
Josh Hazlewood is the leading wicket-taker for RCB this season with 12 dismissals in eight matches at a strike rate of 14.4 and economy rate of 8.39. Hazlewood has been brilliant in the powerplay returning with five wickets conceding just 6.57 per over in this edition. His highest impact performance (3-14) came against Punjab Kings in Bengaluru.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR)
Yashasvi Jaiswal is the highest scorer for the Royals this season with an aggregate of 307 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 139.5. Although, not at his destructive best, Jaiswal has still registered four fifties this season. After an indifferent start, the left-hander has recorded three fifties in a row and hit some form in the competition. He was at his peak in the 2023 edition where he blasted 625 runs at a strike rate of 163.6.

Wanindu Hasaranga (RR)
Hasaranga is the leading wicket-taker for Royals this season with nine wickets in six innings at a strike rate of 14.6 and economy of 9.4. The Sri Lankan leg spinner returned with 4-35 against Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati – his best outing this season. Only Rashid Khan has picked more wickets than Hasaranga in the middle overs in all T20 cricket since 2020.

Venue Stats – M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
- The average score batting first at the venue this season is just 142 – Chinnaswamy has surprised everyone with the amount of help it has offered the seam bowlers in the tournament.
- The average score chasing at the venue is 146.
- Pacers have accounted for 68% of the wickets at the venue this season at a strike rate of 16.1 and economy of 8.2 in IPL 2025.
- The team chasing has been victorious in all the three matches this season.


Powerplay & Death Over Stats
- Virat Kohli has a strike rate of 157.6 in the PP since IPL 2024.

- Tim David has a strike rate of 206.5 in the death overs in the IPL.

- Rajat Patidar has a strike rate of 170.4 against spin in the IPL. It is the fourth-best ever (min. 500 runs) after Sunil Narine, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen.
- Josh Hazlewood has an economy of 6.6 in the powerplay this season.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal has a strike rate of 160.8 in the powerplay since IPL 2023.
- Jofra Archer has an economy rate of 6.25 in the powerplay in the IPL.

MATCH-UPS

- Virat Kohli vs Jofra Archer in T20 cricket
Innings – 10
Balls – 72
Runs – 90
Strike Rate – 125
Dismissals – 0


- Phil Salt vs Maheesh Theekshana in T20 cricket
Innings – 5
Balls – 36
Runs – 62
Strike Rate – 172.2
Dismissals – 1


- Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Josh Hazlewood in T20 cricket
Innings – 3
Balls – 21
Runs – 55
Strike Rate – 261.9
Dismissals – 2



- Riyan Parag vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar in T20 cricket
Innings – 3
Balls – 17
Runs – 36
Strike Rate – 211.8
Dismissals – 0

Cricket Match Predictions*

Match Prediction
Royal Challengers Bengaluru to win 

Toss Prediction
Rajasthan Royals

Who will score most runs
Phil Salt (RCB)
Riyan Parag (RR)

Who will take most wickets
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB)
Jofra Archer (RR)

*The predictions and picks are formulated from the odds and information sourced from top brand gaming and stats experts – the win prediction widget is live and will fluctuate with the market odds and live in play.....remember, when the fun stops… STOP

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