Former India captain and head coach Ravi Shastri believes the Qualifier 2 clash in IPL 2022 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday will be a royal affair as both teams want to be on the victorious side to play the title clash against Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
"It's been 14 years for RCB (as they've never owned that elusive silverware) and 13 years since Rajasthan won their last title in the inaugural season. So between the two of them, it's been 27 years (laughs). They both want it badly and it will be a battle of Royals. Let's wait for that one. It's going to be a great contest as both the teams would want to win it badly," said Shastri on the Cricket Live show on Star Sports.
In IPL 2022, both Bangalore and Rajasthan have showcased great skills and class to bring themselves into a position where they can end their title drought. While Bangalore are yet to win an IPL trophy, Rajasthan have been searching for the elusive title since winning the inaugural IPL season in 2008.
Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith believes Qualifier 2 will be a cracker of a contest. Smith, who was a part of the Rajasthan Royals side in winning the 2008 IPL, reckons the pressure will be on Sanju Samson & Co. as they are heading into the game on the back of a seven-wicket defeat in Qualifier 1 to Gujarat while Bangalore come into the match after defeating Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs in the Eliminator.
"I think the challenge will be on Rajasthan Royals after their disappointing loss against Gujarat Titans (in Qualifier 1). They must be hurt. Can they pick themselves up? RCB on the other hand are on a high. They'll be keen to turn it around and put back a high skill level in the game. So, I agree with Ravi that we are going to have a cracker of a game on Friday night," concluded the former left-handed batter.
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