SRH vs RCB Preview – Bangalore eye glory against host Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad will host Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 65th match of the ongoing IPL 2023 season at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The home side, who are no longer in the race for playoffs, can spoil the party for Bangalore.
Aiden Markram’s side were knocked out of the tournament. They failed to chase Gujarat Titans’ challenging total in their last outing. While the Sunirsers bowlers did well to restrict the flow of runs in the death overs after Shubman Gill’s century, the SRH top-order fell like a deck of cards in the second innings.
Coming to their opponents, Royal Challengers Bangalore are on cloud nine at the moment. Bangalore thump contenders Rajasthan Royals by a record-setting margin in their last outing. While Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell’s match-defining partnership helped them to a competitive total in the first innings. Wayne Parnell and Mohammed Siraj ran riot with the new ball to make a mockery of Rajasthan’s batting order.
A win for RCB will hand them a massive boost in their quest for a playoff spot. A win can boost their chances especially after Mumbai Indians’ loss against Lucknow Super Giants.
Pitch and conditions
The surface in Hyderabad is a decent batting strip with a fair amount of assistance for the bowlers. The pitch remains intact throughout the match. The previous encounter at this venue witnessed the chasing team get over the line chasing a 180+ run target. The team winning the toss would be inclined to bat first at this venue.
Venue details: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Last T20 match at the venue: SRH- 182/6 (20 overs) LSG- 185/3 (19.2 overs)
Here’s the probable playing XI for Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Bhuvneshwar Kumar found himself in an elite company after he became only the third bowler to claim two five-wicket hauls in the history of the tournament. Despite his best efforts with the ball, SRH failed to put up a fight against the defending champions as the batters surrendered meekly in the powerplay.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
It was a clinical performance by Faf du Plessis men in their last outing. Although Virat Kohli’s recent form will trouble the RCB skipper, Anuj Rawat’s belligerence in his last outing is a big positive for the Men in Red and Gold. The inclusion of Wayne Parnell in the last game turned out to be a masterstroke, and the veteran Proteas pacer will be looking to replicate the same performance against SRH.
