IPL 2018: Match 51, RCB vs SRH, Preview- Can RCB make their final swansong in Bangalore a memorable one?

The Royal Challengers Bangalore needed to win four matches on the trot in order to stay afloat in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise was stupendous against the Delhi Daredevils and the Kings XI Punjab. With their backs to the wall, they rose to the occasion. Their next opponent is the Sunrisers Hyderabad, de facto the table toppers, who won’t be easy to outclass by any means.

RCB’s batsmen struck form and are required to replicate the same against an SRH attack that has been destructive on most days. Their bowlers haven’t disappointed either. On the contrary, the Sunrisers find themselves in a pretty comfortable situation. They are assured of a berth among the top two teams even if they lose their upcoming encounters against Virat Kohli’s men and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Sunrisers might resort to making some alterations and rest some of their star players. On the contrary, the Challengers are expected to come out all guns blazing versus Kane Williamson’s men for whom the contest has minimum significance as far as qualification is concerned. Meanwhile, RCB will be playing the final time this year at the Chinnaswamy and they won’t want to disappoint their fans who’ve suppored them despite everything.

Team Combination

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB are unlikely to alter their winning combination. Moeen Ali and Parthiv Patel will open the batting followed by Virat Kohli, who opened the other day against Punjab. AB de Villiers is the stalwart in the middle-order. Mandeep Singh and Colin de Grandhomme need to contribute their bit as well. Sarfaraz Khan has had a forgettable campaign and will be keen to get a decent score under his belt.

The bowling will be spearheaded by Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee who have complemented each other to help RCB’s woes in the department. Mohammed Siraj hasn’t been disappointing either. Yuzvendra Chahal was impressive for the last couple of matches and he will have to play his role in order for Virat’s troops to perform well. Grandhomme and Moeen Ali’s overs will also be crucial.

Predicted XI

Moeen Ali, Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (capt), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH might make a couple of changes in their lineup. Alex Hales hasn’t played a knock of substance and he is expected to make way for Carlos Braithwaite, the Windies all-rounder. In that scenario, Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson will open the batting. Bhuveshwar Kumar, who was taken to the cleaners in the last two encounters, may be replaced by Basil Thampi.

The team will be hoping for Manish Pandey to score some runs and get his form back. Deepak Hooda, who was roped in place of Yusuf Pathan in the last match, is likely to play again. There isn’t any update about Wriddhiman Saha and hence, Shreevats Goswami remains to be their keeper. Rashid Khan’s leg-breaks also need to come to the fore.

Predicted XI

Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (capt), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma

Players to watch out for

Virat Kohli- Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat has shouldered a chunk of the responsibility in the batting department and hopes will again be pinned on him to score big. He played a couple of breezy knocks against DD and KXIP, and the RCB skipper’s form will again be pivotal to the Challengers chances against the celebrated bowling armoury of the Sunrisers.

Rashid Khan- Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rashid bamboozled the RCB batsmen in Hyderabad. The young spunk’s task in Bangalore might not be as simple at a venue, which has historically been to be a bowler’s graveyard in the IPL. Rashid’s wrong’uns have been hard to decipher and he has to be on top of his game for SRH to get a stranglehold on the batsmen.

Head to Head

Played- 11, Royal Challengers Bangalore- 4, Sunrisers Hyderabad- 6, Tie/NR- 1

Stat Attack

Virat Kohli has scored 473 runs against SRH in 10 IPL innings. He is the only player to score 400+ IPL runs against SRH.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has an economy rate of 8.05 against the RCB. This is Bhuvi’s worst economy against any opposition in the Twenty20 format.

Broadcast details

TV– Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Jalsha (Bengali), Star Maa Movies (Telegu), Star Sports Tamil

Online– Hotstar & YuppTv

Match Timings: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT

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