Rock bottom RCB brace for more Sunrisers fireworks in Hyderabad

Match details

Sunrisers Hyderabad (3rd) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (10th) Hyderabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big Picture

There were doubts about Sunrisers’ bowling unit’s ability to support their star batting line-up. There have been a few noteworthy performances, even though their bowlers have been taken for runs. In their most recent match, against Delhi Capitals, T Natarajan made an effect at the end overs, but their captain Pat Cummins has been instrumental in slowing the pace down in the middle overs. Mayank Markande has also shown promise at times.

In a way, Sunrisers and RCB operate similarly: their batters have done the heavy lifting to compensate for their bowling deficiencies. Sunrisers have been more fearless and consistent. 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’ve fought hard with the bat despite two consecutive losses in their last two games while chasing large totals. They’ve also had some fantastic individual performers. They scored 262 in a record 288-run chase against Sunrisers and fell one run short in the 223 chase against Kolkata Knight Riders. They’ve 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 even a slim chance of staying alive this season.

Form Guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru LLLLL ((last five matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWWW

Previous meeting

Sunrisers 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

Sunrisers are unlikely to change their XI barring any injury concern. Head has been the player subbed out when they have batted first and subbed in while chasing. In their last game, against Capitals, they brought in Washington Sundar as the Impact Player.

Sunrisers Hyderabad 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.

RCB 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 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yash Dayal/ Vyshak Vijaykumar

In the spotlight

Abhishek Sharma has been banging the door down to India’s T20 World Cup team. His explosive starts have been crucial in Sunrisers setting up massive totals, his strike rate of 215.96 the second-best for a batter who’s 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 his starts and putting up big scores to strengthen his case.

RCB could not 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’s 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 batters 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 Sunrisers 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

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

“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