RCB vs RR: George Garton, the in-demand English pacer, makes IPL debut

George Garton of Royal Challengers Bangalore (IPL)

England's George Garton was handed his Indian Premier League debut by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the clash against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. The left-arm quick came in place of Kiwi all-rounder Kyle Jamieson, who has so far failed to match up to his reputation in the second phase of the league. 

Drop a  for George Garton, who makes his debut in the Red and Gold! 

Go well mate! #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2021 #RRvRCB pic.twitter.com/gjVztPE5sq

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 29, 2021

Garton comes into the side on the back of a rich haul in the recently-concluded The Hundred, where he helped the Southern Brave to the inaugural title. The in-demand English pacer also had a great English summer with Sussex in the T20 Blast. 

Garton has been in England's radar for quite a while and was named in the initial limited-over squad against Pakistan earlier this year, which was forced to sitout of the series after a COVID-19 outbreak. England had then named a second squad with an entirely new set of players.

He had also earned a late call-up in England's red-ball squad after a string of injuries struck the English side during 2017-18 Ashes. 

Garton was recently signed by Big Bash League team Adelaide Strikers, which will be his maiden outing at the tournament. 

RCB win toss 

Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to field. 

Captain's speak 

Virat Kohli: "Pitch will remain the same, if we start decently, can get runs. As a batting unit, we're doing a good job so want to continue that. New wicket that we're playing on, we've seen the ball do something in the first innings. Asked guys to be brave, someone like bluffing batters was courageous. Bowlers showed that body language. I'm feeling good, hitting the ball better than I have, am in a good space, sure of what I want to do. It's about contributing as much as I can, been able to do that at the top of the order." 

Sanju Samson: "As a team we were down, we had a long team chat yesterday, refreshed the purpose of playing this game. Lot of fans support for us, we want to entertain and put a smile back on their face."

PLAYING XIs 

Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, George Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal