IPL 2018, Match 39, SRH vs RCB, Match Prediction: Who will win the match today, Sunrisers Hyderabad or Royal Challengers Bangalore?

Tomorrow’s contest in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will feature two teams which are at two different ends of the spectrum as far as the teams’ standings are concerned.  While the Sunrisers Hyderabad are leading the table with 7 wins in 9 games and have one foot in the playoffs already, the Royal Challengers Bangalore have won just 3 out of the same no. of games and have left themselves needing 5 wins out of 5.

RCB, however, can take heart from the fact that they were almost in the same position a couple of seasons back in 2016 and they went on a winning spree to secure their playoffs spot. They will be telling themselves there is no reason why they can’t do it again if they pull their socks up and put out their best show every game from here on.

Pitch and Conditions

The Hyderabad pitch has spun which is the reason why RCB might be a little worried as they have to contend with the world’s best T20 spinner Rashid Khan on this surface. Teams usually prefer to chase but considering SRH’s bowling strength, their past record of defending even most totals and the Rashid factor and the way he has troubled the teams batting second, it’s very much possible that RCB bats first if the fall of the coin goes in their favour.

The similar goes to SRH too as they are not at their utmost ease chasing the scores and will want to defend if given a choice.

Playing Combination

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Probable Changes – Brendon McCullum and Murugan Ashwin out, Manan Vohra and Moeen Ali in

Brendon McCullum played a handy knock against Mumbai the other evening, but he has been largely uncomfortable against spin. With the surface likely to assist the spinners, RCB might entertain the thought of replacing him with Manan Vohra who is a quality player of spin and has shown his potential time and again in the IPL.

If McCullum sits out, it means RCB will have an overseas slot to utilize and they might hand an opportunity to Moeen Ali. Moeen has proven to be a decent finisher for England in limited-overs cricket in the last couple of years and he will be an ideal fit at no. 6/7. And it’s not only his batting but his off-spin bowling as well which will come handy for RCB.

Predicted XI: Parthiv Patel (WK), Manan Vohra, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Probable Changes – Manish Pandey out, Deepak Hooda in

Manish Pandey has been out of touch right since the start of this IPL, but given the potential he has, the Hyderabad management gave him an extended run, however, he still seems to be struggling with his timing and he might be given a bit of a break tomorrow just for him to reflect where he is going wrong.

If Manish is axed, Deepak Hooda’s selection will be a no-brainer, though he might not bat at no. 4. Hyderabad could promote Shakib Al Hasan to that position who is a far more experienced player and can control the innings better in the period between the powerplay and the death.

Hooda will bat at 5 and will be the finisher with the last game’s hero Yusuf Pathan who should continue batting at 6.

Predicted XI: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma

Team Comparison

Hyderabad is the massive favourite in tomorrow’s game simply because of their bowling attack. It’s way too strong for them not to be backed to make an impact at home. While Rashid Khan has done the most of the damage, the fact that the other bowlers have chipped in as well has allowed the skipper Kane Williamson to use Rashid as an attacking option.

Regarding RCB, while there have been a lot of talks about their bowling with many believing they don’t have enough sting in that facet of the game, it’s actually their batting which is letting them down more and that’s what they should look into first. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, as always, have batted wonderfully well, but the others need to make sure that they also step up to the plate and make contributions on a consistent basis which they haven’t so far.

Probable Top Performers

Parthiv Patel (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Head to Head

Matches – 10, Royal Challengers Bangalore  – 4, Sunrisers Hyderabad  – 5, Tie – 1 (Sunrisers Hyderabad won)

The timing of the match: 08:00 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports 1, Star Sports Hindi, Star Sports Select 1

Online – Jio TV, Hotstar

The prediction is for the Sunrisers Hyderabad to beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore in this match.