IPL 10, Match 29, RCB v SRH Preview: Distraught Royal Challengers up against upbeat Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered massive embarrassment after being bundling out for the lowest total in the history of the tournament. RCB were shot down on a paltry 49 against the Kolkata Knight Riders. RCB batting, the pride of the franchise, was taken to the cleaners on the day. Now, they find themselves up against another stiff opposition in Sunrisers Hyderabad.

These two teams share a rich history between themselves. They were the finalists of the previous edition of the tournament. A lot has changed since then. While the Sunrisers Hyderabad have continued to get better in their combinations and permutations on the field, the RCB camp has been searching for the winning mantra. The last time these two sides met was in the tournament opener this year.

It was SRH who had trounced the RCB in that game at Hyderabad. Now, the action moves to the home venue for the Royal Challengers at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The shorter boundaries would fascinate the hard hitters of the two teams. However, the most recent trends in Bengaluru have been low scoring affairs. In any case, the battle will be between the batting might of the Royal Challengers Bangalore up against the bowling prowess of the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Focus will be on

Virat Kohli

RCB skipper Virat Kohli is a big match player. At the moment, he is certainly hurt with the way his team succumbed to a new low in the previous outing. In the game against the Knight Riders, Kohli was dismissed for a golden duck which is a rarity for a player like him. Prior to that, he had two fifties coming in to the tournament. The opening batsman is definitely not short on good form. However, it is the length of his stay at the crease that has been point of discussion. Given the poor run of the other batsmen in the lineup, Kohli has to step up and shoulder more responsibility.

Yuvraj Singh

The veteran Indian batsman has a habit of being in the limelight. Yuvraj had made a promising start to the season with a couple of blitzkrieg cameos. One of those had come against the same opposition in the tournament opener. However, in the last 3 games, the southpaw has failed to deliver with the bat. He has got the opportunity to bat with a plethora of overs in hand. But the 35-year-old batsman has not capitalized on those chances. Considering the RCB attack which has not been the most consistent, Yuvraj has the best case to get back to his form in this game.

Shikhar Dhawan

Sunrisers opener Shikar Dhawan is an elegant batsman to watch when in full flow. Over the last few months, he has managed to come up with excellent batting shows sporadically. It is the consistency that has been missing from his willow. He recently hit a brilliant 70 a match ago for the Orange army but failed to back it up with another good knock in the game against Rising Pune Supergiant. All eyes would be on SRH opening duo and Dhawan needs to rise up to the big game.

Team Combinations:

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The Royal Challengers Bangalore find themselves in a situation where none of their batsmen are stepping up to the occasion. On paper, the side looks formidable but they have largely failed to translate it to the on-field action. Despite their embarrassing loss in the previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders, the team is likely to field the same playing eleven. Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers form the top three in the batting lineup. Mandeep Singh, who is yet to find his feet in the season, comes in next in the line.

Kedar Jadhav has been a decent job as the wicketkeeper of the lineup. All-rounders Pawan Negi and Stuart Binny have contributed with the ball but have failed to click with the bat in hand. Two pacers and two specialist spinners make up the eleven for RCB. Yuzvendra Chahal and Samuel Badree have been doing a great job in the spin department being the primary wicket takers. Tymal Mills and Sreenath Arvind have got wickets under their belt as well.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have a very settled lineup at the moment. The batting lineup looks strong on paper but is heavily reliant on the opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner. Warner and Dhawan have struck form in the season thus far. Moises Henriques, who comes in next, has three fifties to his name in the season already. He is surely a key player for the SRH camp.

Kane Williamson, who hit a brilliant 89 in his first game of the season, is likely to retain his place in the squad. There is no update on pacer Ashish Nehra as yet but the veteran pacer is likely to sit out for a couple of more matches. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Siraj, and Siddharth Kaul have done a tremendous job in the pace bowling department in the absence of Nehra. Rashid Khan and Bipul Sharma are the two spinners in the lineup.

Probable XI:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav(w), Mandeep Singh, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Tymal Mills, Sreenath Aravind, Samuel Badree, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha(w), Rashid Khan, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Siddarth Kaul.

StatAttack

3 – Number of RCB batsmen with 20 or more fifties in the IPL (Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, and Virat Kohli).

4 – Four of the top five leading wicket-takers of IPL 2016 belonged to these two teams (Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman, Shane Watson, Yuzvendra Chahal).

10 – Number of times these two sides have met in the IPL. RCB has won four matches, while SRH have come up as winners on 6 occasions.

34 – David Warner has 34 fifties to his name – the most fifties in IPL history.

262 – Number of sixes hit by Chris Gayle in IPL. He stands with a country mile lead with Suresh Raina being the next in the list with 167.

1660 – The total number of runs scored by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for the RCB in the IPL 2016 as against David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan’s cumulative total of 1349 runs.