"Sanju Samson's bat should fire" - Aakash Chopra on his expectations from Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023 clash against RCB

Aakash Chopra expects Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson to fire with the bat in their IPL 2023 clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

The two sides lock horns in Bengaluru in the afternoon game on Sunday (April 23). While a win for RR will consolidate their top spot in the points table, a positive result for RCB will help them join five other teams with eight points.

While previewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said that Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler should deliver the goods with the bat for the Royals:

"There is no doubt that the team (RR) is good. Sanju Samson's bat should fire in this game. It is a small ground, and he should play well on this ground. This pitch should suit Buttler a lot as well. He shouldn't have any problems, however well Mohammed Siraj might be bowling."

While acknowledging that Yashasvi Jaiswal might have a few difficulties against Mohammed Siraj, the former Indian opener added that Shimron Hetmyer grows in stature when the Rajasthan Royals are chasing:

"Yashasvi Jaiswal might be in a little danger against Siraj because he bowls very well to left-handers, but the pitch is very good, and he is coming after scoring runs in the last match. If you are chasing, Shimron Hetmyer becomes like a beast."

Chopra pointed out that Rajasthan Royals have a better spin-bowling attack compared to RCB.

While observing that last season's finalists could field either Sandeep Sharma or Kuldeep Sen as their Indian seamer, the cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that the former enjoys an excellent record against Virat Kohli.

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"It's like a broken record" - Aakash Chopra on RCB relying on their 3 batting pillars heading into Rajasthan Royals clash

Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli are among the top three run-getters in IPL 2023. (P/C: iplt20.com)

Speaking about the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Aakash Chopra pointed out their overreliance on Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell in the batting department:

"It's like a broken record; when you look towards Bangalore, you say they have three very good batters. They are their three pillars - Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. The other batters around them have not scored runs."

However, he highlighted that the three stalwarts have not let the team down thus far:

"If they don't score runs, they will get stuck someday or the other. But the good thing is that they have not got stuck even once until now because Kohli, Du Plessis and Maxwell together score enough runs for you to win the game, whether they win or they lose."

Chopra concluded by imploring RCB to play Karn Sharma alongside Wanindu Hasaranga in the afternoon game against the Rajasthan Royals. He reasoned that the franchise would not need Vijaykumar Vyshak as a fourth seamer.