IPL 2020: Match 3, RCB vs SRH – RCB Predicted Playing XI

The third match of Indian Premier League 2020 will be a battle between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Both the teams are led by two of the most prolific modern-day batsmen, Virat Kohli and David Warner respectively.

With RCB still waiting to clinch their first IPL title, SRH won their only title in 2016 by beating the Bangalore franchise in the final. Both the teams are quite similar on paper as their captains are the biggest strengths of their batting unit.

In bowling RCB heavily rely on Yuzvendra Chahal’s leg-spin and SRH have Rashid Khan, the world-class spinner in their artillery. With the pitch in Dubai expected to assist the spinners, it will be fascinating to see how well the two of the strongest top-orders of IPL cope up with the challenge.

Here is the predicted XI for RCB in their first game of the 13th season: –

Openers (Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal)

Since the day RCB had released Chris Gayle from their squad, their opening pair has always looked vulnerable. Finally, with the admission of Aaron Finch, the Australian skipper, in the top-order, again looks quite prominent.

The Victorian batsman is the third-ranked T20I batsman in ICC rankings and his ability to strike from the first ball is his greatest strength. Devdutt Padikkal is one of the most anticipated young talents to watch out for this season.

The 20-year-old lad from Karnataka set India’s domestic cricket on fire with his staggering shots last season. The southpaw is expected to provide RCB lightning-fast starts as he did in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy last year where he finished as the highest run-getter.

Middle-order (Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Gurkeerat Singh)

Virat Kohli the skipper and the highest run-scorer of IPL history will play the role of an anchor. Also, his ability to change gear in the latter stage makes him a lot dangerous.

The partnership between him and AB de Villiers has been RCB’s greatest strength and they form the most lethal middle-order in the cash-rich league. While De Villiers and can play all around the ground and can hit sixes at will, Gurkeerat Singh Mann adds another substantial batting allrounder to the middle overs.

Apart from his solid batting credentials, Gurkeerat adds an extra dimension with his handy off-spin. All in all, the middle-order looks a faily decent one for the Challengers.

All-rounders (Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar)

RCB’s quest of finding a suitable pace-bowling all-rounder has ended with Chris Morris. The Protea cricketer is a handy batsman who can hit long sixes with sheer power. He can also bowl exceptionally at the death overs, something which the RCB team have lacked over the years.

The Indian all-rounders, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube give bowling options to captain Kohli. Dube is a left-handed batting all-rounder who can be handy with the ball as well.

Sundar is a bowling all-rounder and his off-spin bowling is very highly rated, especially in the powerplay. With three proper bowlers, these all-rounders provide an extra cushion to the attack along with firepower in death overs with their batting.

Bowlers (Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Navdeep Saini)

Yuzvendra Chahal is  RCB’s greatest strength in their bowling attack. His ingenious variations in speed and length make him difficult to pick. Also with the addition of Dale Steyn in the squad, RCB’s death bowling looks more superior this season.

Navdeep Saini is a regular player in Indian squad now with international exposure and is RCB’s prime Indian fast bowler. On the basis of his impressive show last season, he went on to make his ODI and T20I debut.

The pace battery looks mouth-watering as each one of Saini, Steyn and Morris can bowl above 140 kms/hour. Isuru Udana and Umesh Yadav are other options in bowling attack but it looks like they need to wait for their turn.