IPL 9, Match 4 Preview: Hosts RCB face a formidable SRH bowling unit in Bengaluru

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in what should be a fascinating contest between the bat and the ball at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. While batting strength makes the home team firm favourites, the visitors are not shy of pedigree in their bowling ranks. Both teams though have some injury concerns ahead of their season opener.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

RCB are hands down the strongest batting line-up on paper in this year’s IPL. The likes of AB de Villiers, skipper Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and Shane Watson are genuine match-winners and some of the best in the business. Their captain Kohli has been in tremendous form of late and makes them an even more dangerous opponent for any team. Watson has recently retired from international cricket and is at his best when he plays freely. Gayle and AB know a thing or two about playing the kind of innings that can take the game away from an opposition in a matter of few overs.

RCB’s phenomenal batting lineup also includes the likes of Mandeep Singh, Travis Head, Kedar Jadhav, and Sarfaraz Khan. They also have all-rounders such as Stuart Binny and David Wiese who add depth to the squad. Bowling though appears to be the weak link with the loss of Mitchell Starc and doubt over Samuel Badree’s fitness. Adam Milne and Kane Richardson are the other overseas options available. The leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will have a major role to play along with the seamers Harshal Patel and Sreenath Aravind.

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

SRH added several new names to their squad with the team investing heavily on Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Aditya Tare, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rehman and Barinder Sran. While Yuvi has been ruled out for two weeks due to the injury he sustained during the World T20, all others are available for selections. Their retained players like Kane Williamson, Eoin Morgan, Naman Ojha and Moises Henriques will once again be vital to the team’s chances. If skipper David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan can give the team strong starts, the team has the depth it was missing in last year’s IPL.

SRH have added more teeth to their bowling by including Nehra and Rahman. The two left-armers will join Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their best bowler last season, and Trent Boult who is another quality left-arm quick. Leg-spinner Karn Sharma will continue to lead their thin spin attack. In the all-rounders category, Sunrisers have two Australian options – Henriques and Ben Cutting. The latter bowls at a good clip and is known to hit the ball miles. The likes of Vijay Shankar, Ashish Reddy, and Bipul Sharma could play a role as well.

Pitch and Conditions:

The pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is renowned for producing high-scoring matches. Small boundaries and lightning quick outfield ensure good value for shots. The trend is likely to continue and the team that bowls better may have an upper hand in the contest. Temperatures during the day are generally high however this being an evening game, the players won’t have much to worry about.

Probable XI-

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Stuart Binny, S Arvind, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Milne.

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

David Warner (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Naman Ojha (wk), Aditya Tare, Eoin Morgan, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman.

Stats:

1. Chris Gayle has the best batting average of the RCB. His 2736 runs from 65 innings have been scored at an average of 50.66 including 5 tons, most by any player in the competition’s history, and 16 fifties.

2. David Warner is the leading run-scorer for the Hyderabad outfit with 1090 runs from 28 innings at an average of 45.41 including 13 fifties. He is closely followed by Shikhar Dhawan who has 1041 runs from 38 innings at an average of 30.61 including 8 fifties.