Royal Challengers Bangalore hope to quell Sunrisers Hyderabad challenge to strengthen playoffs chances

In a crucial encounter, Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their home ground as the race for the playoffs heats up. RCB are currently in the fifth position of the points table, two adrift of Mumbai Indians who are in the fourth position with 14 points. Sunrisers Hyderabad have managed to rack four wins from 12 games that has left them reeling at rock bottom with a net run rate of -0.575.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will be approaching this fixture on the back of a massive win against the Rajasthan Royals as they scored 112 runs too many for the latter. Glenn Maxwell (54) and Faf du Plessis (55) steered the ship for the Royal Challengers while Anuj Rawat’s late flourish allowed them to pile up 171 on a tricky surface. Wayne Parnell’s early charge of 3/10 backed well by the spinning duo of Michael Bracewell and Karn Sharma, who shared four wickets between them allowed RCB to seize the bragging rights of the game.

Sunrisers Hyderabad were crushed with an iron fist by the defending champions Gujarat Titans as their batters fell short of steam midway and chasing 188, they were left wobbling at 154. Bhuvneshwar Kumar dished out a magical display with figures of 5/30 while Heinrich Klaasen showcased his true class through a well-constructed 64 but that alone wasn’t enough to keep an incursive GT bowling unit at bay.

With the campaign already done and dusted for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, this will be a battle of pride for the Orange Army as they can only hope to finish things on a high note. For RCB, the situation is quite clear - a win in this game will only strengthen their chance of making the top four, while a loss today will not knock them out but leave them a lot to do in the last league stage game.

Venue Watch:

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has been tricky on occasions in the ongoing edition of the IPL with spinners making fine headways in isolated incidents. However, that isn’t the norm as the fast bowlers can also deal cataclysmic blows if you aren’t careful enough in the wee hours of the game with ample seam on offer. Navigating through a surface like this, a total of 180 may seem to be a pretty decent one, particularly in an edition where 200s have been chased down with a couple of overs to spare.

Personal battles to watch out for:

Faf du Plessis vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar

As Faf du Plessis continues to go strong, soaring with 631 runs in the race for the Orange Cap, he would obviously be one of the biggest hopes for RCB in the upcoming encounter. Faf has been stunning in the powerplay overs, putting up quite a show at the start and standing in his path will be Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who will be coming fresh from his fifer against the mighty Gujarat Titans and with confidence blended in perfect proportions alongside experience and precision, Bhuvi will always be a threat that can never be ignored.

Glenn Maxwell vs T Natarajan

The Australian all-rounder has made it a habit of taking the spinners head on and inflict misery on them like none other in the ongoing edition of the tournament. With 384 runs from 12 innings clobbered at a strike rate of 182.85 that also stars five half-centuries, Glenn Maxwell has been in scintillating touch throughout IPL 2023. T Natarajan may not have scaled the earlier heights that was expected of him, but he will certainly remain a threat with his pin point yorkers against the Aussie, who has been in roaring form.

Wayne Parnell vs Heinrich Klaasen

The South African left-arm seamer gave a glimpse of the meltdown that he can inflict upon any opposition on his heyday against the Rajasthan Royals where he produced a magical display to break the batting order’s backbone. On a track like that of Hyderabad where there is always an additional movement on offer and a lot of assistance for seamers, Parnell could prove to be a handful. With SRH’s top order also struggling to get going, Klaasen might need to come in early and that’s when the battle of the two compatriots could spice up the contest. 

Match detail:

Match: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

Date: 18th May, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 22

SRH: 12

RCB: 9

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Faf Du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Kedar Jadhav, Wayne Parnell, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Michael Bracewell, Vyshak Vijaykumar

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

Aiden Markram (C), Abdul Samad, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Kartik Tyagi, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Glenn Phillips, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Adil Rashid, Mayank Markande, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Upendra Singh Yadav, Mayank Dagar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akeal Hosein, Anmolpreet Singh