Royal Challengers Bangalore face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sharjah for a place in playoffs

The Royal Challengers and Sunrisers Hyderabad gear up to renew the rivalry at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday. The last time the two teams met, RCB emerged victorious courtesy a spirited team performance. Riding on half-centuries from Devdutt Padikkal and AB de Villiers, RCB posted a competitive total of 163. In pursuit, SRH looked favourites to win, before a late collapse from the middle-order saw them fold for just 153. 

A win against the Sunrisers tomorrow will see us book a confirmed playoff berth. The manner in which our top-order batting has gone about the business is encouraging. Devdutt Padikkal has been a revelation this season, racking 417 runs from 12 matches, averaging 34.75. The statistics best illustrate how he has taken a huge weight off the shoulders of the duo, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. The southpaw, who scored 74 against MI, will once again be eager to deliver a match-winning knock for the team. Another youngster, Josh Phillipe showcased his ability to play attacking cricket upfront, which is well suited for the format. Given the boundary dimensions at Sharjah, the Aussie batsman will be hoping to pick up from where he left. The wily spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal has always been a vital cog, shepherding the bowling line-up with immense aplomb. Yuzi, with a tally of 18 wickets, stands fourth in the list of the leading wicket-takers. He has also received a great amount of assistance from his spin comrade, Washington Sundar. However, the biggest advantage for RCB has been the balance that Chris Morris has brought into the side. The Protea all-rounder has been commendable with the ball. His wide range of variations are not easy to get away, let alone to score runs from them. 

The David Warner-led side bounced back after back to back losses when they registered a mammoth 87-run victory over Delhi Capitals on Tuesday. SRH's biggest concern has been their inability to find the perfect balance in their bowling attack in Bhuvneshwar Kumar's absence. However, Rashid Khan has found some footing in the previous two fixtures much to the relief of the team management. The team's achilles heel has been their middle-order. Apart from Manish Pandey, all the other middle-order batsmen haven't stepped up to the occasion. They now need to win both the games and wait for the other results to go their way to secure their place in the playoffs.

Match Details

Date: Saturday, 30 October 

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Time: 7:30 PM (IST)

Form Guide 

Royal Challengers Bangalore - LWWLL

Sunrisers Hyderabad - LLWLW 

Squads

RCB: Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, AB de Villiers, Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shivam Dube, Aaron Finch, Umesh Yadav, Adam Zampa, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Dale Steyn, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Isuru Udana, Devdutt Padikkal, Shahbaz Ahmed, Joshua Philippe, Pavan Deshpande.

SRH: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Virat Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Basil Thampi, Abhishek Sharma, Billy Stanlake, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, K Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Mitchell Marsh, Bavanaka Sandeep, Fabian Allen, Abdul Samad, Sanjay Yadav, Rashid Khan.