Rock-bottom RCB brace for more SRH fireworks in Hyderabad
RCB are 10th and in desperate need of a win, but is there any stopping Travis Head and co at the moment?
Sruthi Ravindranath
24-Apr-2024
Match details
Sunrisers Hyderabad (3rd) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (10th)
Hyderabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)
Big picture - Can RCB out-SRH SRH?
If Travis Head doesn't get you, Abhishek Sharma will. If Abhishek doesn't get you, Heinrich Klaasen will. If neither gets you, one of the middle-order batters will.
Or they will all come at you together, just like they did against Royal Challengers Bengaluru about ten days ago.
There were doubts about the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers being able to support their star batting line-up. There have been a few noteworthy performances, even though their bowlers have been taken for runs. But in their most recent match, against Delhi Capitals, T Natarajan had an effect in the end overs, and their captain Pat Cummins has been instrumental in slowing the pace down in the middle overs. Mayank Markande has also shown promise.
In a way, SRH and RCB operate similarly: their batters have done the heavy lifting to compensate for their bowling deficiencies. SRH, though, have been more fearless and consistent with the bat. RCB, meanwhile, have had to toil harder. Their captain, Faf du Plessis, had even acknowledged that his bowlers did not have "as many weapons" to restrict the flow of runs.
One positive for RCB is that they have fought hard with the bat despite two consecutive losses in their last two games while chasing large totals. They scored 262 in a record 288-run chase against SRH and fell one run short in the 223 chase against Kolkata Knight Riders. They have had some great individual performers too. But they are missing a key player who, on his best day, is capable of SRH-ing the living daylights out of SRH. Is out-of-form Glenn Maxwell feeling rejuvenated enough to return? RCB can only hope, as that will be critical if they don't want to give up their slim chance of staying alive this season.
Form guide
Royal Challengers Bengaluru LLLLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWWW
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWWW
Previous meeting
SRH bested RCB on an evening that produced the highest IPL total and the highest match aggregate in all T20s. They posted a record 287 for 3 on the back of Head's 102 and Klaasen's 31-ball 67. RCB then finished on 262 for 7, Dinesh Karthik leading the way with 83 off 35 balls as they eventually fell 25 runs short at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Team news and impact player strategy
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH are unlikely to change their XI barring any injuries. Head has been the player subbed out when they have batted first and subbed in while chasing. In their last game, against Delhi Capitals, they brought in Washington Sundar as the Impact Player.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable XII): 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Mayank Markande, 12 T Natarajan
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB brought back Mohammed Siraj, Cameron Green and Karn Sharma for the previous match in place of Vyshak Vijaykumar, Reece Topley and Saurav Chauhan. If Maxwell is good to go, he might slot in for Green. They got Suyash Prabhudessai in as the Impact sub in their second innings, swapping out Yash Dayal.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable XII): 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Cameron Green/Glenn Maxwell, 6 Suyash Prabhudessai, 7 Mahipal Lomror, 8 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Yash Dayal/ Vyshak Vijaykumar
In the spotlight
Abhishek Sharma has been making heads turn. His explosive starts have been crucial in SRH setting up massive totals, his strike rate of 215.96 the second-best for a batter who has faced over 100 balls this season. He's scored 257 in seven matches so far, but has only one half-century. He will be keen on converting those starts and putting up big scores to strengthen his case with the national selectors.
RCB have not been able to get the best out of Rajat Patidar, having used him as a floater in the first few matches of the season. In the last three matches, though, he has played at his usual No. 4 position and has scored two quick fifties, including a 23-ball 52 against KKR in the last match. Patidar has showcased his big-hitting abilities in the past for RCB, his best being a match-winning effort of 112* off 54 against LSG in the 2022 eliminator. RCB's Nos. 3 to 5 have the lowest collective average of the season (15.7) among all teams, but Patidar's continued good form in the No. 4 position may help them turn it around.
Pitch and conditions
The match will be played on the same pitch as the first game of the season at this ground, where SRH plundered a record 277 for 3 batting first against Mumbai Indians, who in turn made 246 for 5, so expect a high-scoring game. It is expected to be hot on Thursday evening in Hyderabad.
Stats that matter
- Virat Kohli scored 100 off 63 balls at this venue last season and has registered 50-plus scores in each of his last three T20 appearances here. Overall in T20s, he averages 59.20 at this venue.
- How can Sunrisers stop Kohli? Call Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has dismissed Kohli four times in 15 meetings in T20s.
- Sunrisers batters have struck at 177.79 this season. This is the first time the combined strike rate of batters from a single team has breached the 170 mark in the IPL.
Quotes
"I think the quality of Travis and Abhishek at the top and their their fearless attitude [has been the reason for aggressive batting style]. And I think once the openers do it, it's pretty contagious. So those two in particular have been fantastic and then we've had some players have been really complementary to that style."
Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori on the team's batting approach this season
Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori on the team's batting approach this season
"I think as a batting group, we may have lost the last two games but we scored 262 in a tough chase and then the other night 220 again. We know we've got the high scores in us. We've been playing with the freedom of chasing a high score. You know you have no option but to go after. We'll be looking to continue that and play with the same freedom as if we were chasing a 220-plus score."
RCB's Will Jacks backs his side's batting unit
RCB's Will Jacks backs his side's batting unit
Sruthi Ravindranath is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo