IPL 2017: RCB v SRH, Game 29 – Match Result Predictions

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore will be the venue that hosts the 29th match of the season between Royal Challengers Bangalore and the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. It will be the repeat of the last year’s summit clash where SRH had overpowered a strong RCB line-up to win the IPL for the first time. The two teams will be up against each other for the second time this season and they had met earlier in the first match of the 2017 edition.

In their previous encounter in Hyderabad, SRH had ended up on the winning side once more. Just like the last year’s final, SRH batted first and put up a total in excess of 200 courtesy a brilliant 62 off 27 from Yuvraj Singh. RCB were without the services of their skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. None of the batsmen could cope with the required run rate and a disciplined bowling effort from SRH halted them 35 short of the target.

RCB has been struggling since the inception of this season and have managed to win just 2 games out of 7 so far and are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table. The injuries to their ace batsmen Kohli and de Villiers didn’t help their cause in the initial stages of the league. Chris Gayle has been highly inconsistent and has gone in and out of the side. In the last game against Kolkata Knight Riders, they had a forgettable outing as they were bowled out for just 49 in 9.4 overs while chasing a meager 131. It was a performance that hurt them to the core and they will be itching for a revival.

SRH, on the other hand, have had a mixed tournament so far. They won their first two matches and then lost two. They again won two games in a row and then lost one more. Despite that, they are at number 3 on the points table and would love to finish amongst the top 2 to increase their chances of the title defense. Their major strength has been in the bowling department and once more, the onus will be on them to restrict the strong batting of RCB.

Here is what Crictracker predicts for the game:

Scenario 1: RCB wins the toss

Toss prediction: RCB would choose to bowl first

First innings score prediction: 170-180

Second innings prediction: RCB would win the match by 4 wickets with 1 over in hand

Scenario 2: SRH wins the toss

Toss prediction: SRH would choose to bowl first

First innings score prediction: 180-190

Second innings prediction: RCB would win the match by 15-20 runs

Head to Head Record

Overall: Total Matches – 10, RCB Won – 4, SRH Won – 6

Matches in Bangalore: Total Matches – 5, RCB Won – 3, SRH Won – 2

As far as the head to head record is concerned, SRH have an edge over RCB but the matches played in Bangalore have gone in the favor of the home side. The RCB side is hurting deeply after their dismal show with the bat in the last game and the Kohli’s men will come out hard more than ever. The skipper will be charged up and the reason why RCB will be the favorites to bounce back against SRH.

Playing Combinations:

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The batting line-up is studded with international stars like Gayle, Kohli, de Villiers and Jadhav. But none of them stood up against KKR and everyone just followed each other back to the pavilion. Kohli got out on duck off the first ball he faced and he would be desperate to make amends. Gayle had shown signs of form in the previous games and needs to come good big time. AB has been off the radar after the first game he played this season. The responsibility will be on these 3 big guns heavily to revive the fortunes of the team.

The bowling department did pretty well under the helpful conditions of Eden Gardens in the last game. Each bowler picked up at least a wicket with Yuzvendra Chahal being the pick of the bowlers with 3 scalps. Tymal Mills made a merry comeback in the team after recovering from an injury. Stuart Binny, Sreenath Aravind, Samuel Badree and Pawan Negi were all amongst the wickets and they will need similar returns against SRH too.

Predicted XI: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav(wk), Mandeep Singh, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Samuel Badree, Tymal Mills, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The openers David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan had decent starts in the last game against RPS but they couldn’t find the timing and had strike rates of just above 100. Those two will have to do the duties up the order to set up a big score. Kane Williamson has shown great form in the two games so far and is expected to retain his place. Yuvraj Singh might make a return to the side after missing out in the last game. Henriques has done a tremendous job so far and totally justified his selection. The wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha hasn’t had much to do so far.

Their batting line-up is equally supported by the bowling. The Purple Cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the standout bowler of the season so far and would once again be in the thick of things. Rashid Khan has been the revelation of the tournament and has troubled even the big stars of cricket. Bipul Sharma has played his part too and Siddharth Kaul has bowled well at the death. However, the bowling of SRH will be tested against the strong batting order of RCB.

Predicted XI: David Warner(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Naman Ojha(wk), Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul

The contest between the two sides promises to be a mouth-watering one and with the tournament now running in the middle stages, each game becomes crucial in the context of the league.

RCB are wounded and are expected to come out hard in their own den. Although SRH looks stronger, the chances are that the batting of RCB will finally come good and overpower SRH.

You can follow the live scores of the match here

Do let us know your predictions in the comments section below.