Preview by Ghcalive Staff
In contrast to an international football season, the IPL does not include any games that are exceptionally easy or lopsided. It’s just the way the game is played and how strong, at least on paper, the 10 teams are. However, RCB should be more upbeat when they visit Hyderabad since they will be taking on a club whose season has already come to an unfortunate and premature end and which has struggled to stay together throughout.
The RCB’s convincing win against Rajasthan Royals three nights ago, which allowed Faf du Plessis’ club to dramatically boost NRR and dent a rival candidate for a top-four place, also contributed to the rising optimism. A victory on Thursday will bring RCB to 14 points and give them the advantage of knowing exactly what they need to do next in order to go to the playoffs as their final game is also the final league game of the season. Short version: they still hold the initiative.
RCB needs a strong start with the ball if everything is to go according to plan. They pick up the most wickets this season (30) in the first six, but they have the poorest ER in the middle and the death overs. Given that SRH have been erratic starts and have the second-worst run rate in the batting PowerPlay and the lowest boundary count (85 – 74 fours, 11 sixes), they might effectively dictate terms during this time. Given how dismal their season has been overall, many of these figures for SRH are deceptive. Brian Lara, the team’s head coach, lamented their repeated losses in situations in which they had an apparent advantage as well as the fact that they lost out on being far higher on the scoreboard. Even if the ship has departed and there is nothing left to play for, they might still sabotage RCB’s campaign and work to avoid the humiliation of receiving the wooden spoon.
When: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 18, 2023, 07:30 PM IST
Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
What to anticipate: Teams have found it difficult to bat at this location, as seen by their combined batting average (runs/dismissals), which is the second-lowest this year at 23.71. Four out of the six games played here have been won by teams batting first.
Head-to-head: SRH has won 12 of the 21 games between the two clubs, including the 2016 season final played in Bangalore. RCB has only achieved victory once in seven games in Hyderabad. However, SRH’s home performance this season has been abysmal, with only 1 of 6 games being victories.
Team Watch:
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Strategy & Match: After taking five wickets, including four in the last over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar enters the game. He contrasts favourably with the illustrious troika of Glenn Maxwell (32 balls | 39 runs | 2 dismissals), Faf du Plessis (57 balls | 70 runs | 1 dismissal), and Virat Kohli, thus SRH will need him to make a difference at the other end against RCB.
Probable XI: Anmolpreet Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, Glenn Phillips/Harry Brook, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Fazalhaq Farooqi/Marco Jansen
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Strategy & Match: Glenn Maxwell must pose the biggest threat to SRH in the middle overs. He has a strike rate of 160.77 and a season average of 41.57 against leg spinners, thus he should be the batsman facing Mayank Markande, who has 10 wickets in six games in Hyderabad.
Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Michael Bracewell, Anuj Rawat, Wayne Parnell, Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
Squads:
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Sanvir Singh, Mayank Markande, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Adil Rashid, Mayank Agarwal, Akeal Hosein, Glenn Phillips, Samarth Vyas, Mayank Dagar, Upendra Yadav, Harry Brook, Kartik Tyagi, Nitish Reddy, Umran Malik, Vivrant Sharma
Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik(w), Michael Bracewell, Wayne Parnell, Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Kedar Jadhav, Josh Hazlewood, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Wanindu Hasaranga, Finn Allen, Sonu Yadav, Suyash Prabhudessai, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Himanshu Sharma
Check Here:-Who will prevail in the IPL game between Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 65th Match
