The 2016 IPL finalists, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be up against each other in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, 6 October. The two sides have had a contrasting tournament. The Virat Kohli-led RCB have been in some brilliant touch and have played the tournament with a lot of confidence, SRH on the other side have been all over the place.
From changing captain to tweaking the playing XI combination, the Sunrisers tried it all but failed miserably in this edition. They are not just bottom-placed in the points table but have just won a couple of matches in the 12 fixtures that they have featured so far.
On the other side, RCB also made some changes in their line up. They in fact included a T20 maestro in the squad when the team roped in Glenn Maxwell during the auctions earlier this year.
The right-hander has been a great pick for the Bangalore-based franchise in the season so far. He has provided the resistance in the middle-order that RCB had been striving for a very long time.
Bangalore are coming into this game with some momentum after they defeated Punjab Kings in the last encounter in Sharjah. While Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal provided them with a steady start, Maxwell struck another fifty during the course to help his side put 164/7 in 20 overs on the board.
Later, Punjab too started off in a brilliant manner as KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal put 91 runs on the board for first wicket but the RCB bowlers pulled things back in their favour and eventually won the match.
Sunrisers on the other hand suffered a defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai. The Hyderabad side witnessed another batting failure and were restricted to 115/8 in 20 overs. The bowlers did manage to pick a couple of early wickets but weren’t able to capitalise on that lost the match. KKR chased down the target by 6 wickets in the final over.
Talking about the last clash between the two teams, RCB rode on Maxwell’s fifty and managed to score 149/8 in 20 overs in Chennai. Despite restricting the opposition for a lesser total, SRH witnessed a middle-order collapse during the course and lost the match by 6 runs. Shahbaz Ahmed took perfect advantage of the conditions and returned with figures of 3/7 in two overs.
While RCB will look to continue momentum, SRH have the opportunity to test the bench strength just like they did in the previous game after handing the maiden cap to Umran Malik who made headlines for generating express pace while bowling.
Match Details
Match: RCB vs SRH, 52nd Match, Indian Premier League 2021
Date: Wednesday, October 06, 2021
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Telecast: Star Sports Network, Disney Hotstar
Pitch Report
The encounter between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings saw heaps of runs being scored from both the sides. The track is likely to be similar when RCB and SRH take the centre stage on Wednesday.
Moreover, with the kind of batting firepower that both the teams have, a high-voltage drama can be expected. So, if you win the toss, elect to field first.
RCB’s new asset
The Royal Challengers Bangalore have always been known to be a side with some aggressive batsmen in their ranks but one major change or probably the important addition that the franchise has made is strengthening the bowling.
Harshal Patel is in some fine form and is the highest wicket-taker for the side at present while Mohammed Siraj is also chipping in with some decent performances.
Apart from the two pacers, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has put the question mark on the Indian selectors after his omission from the World T20 squad. He has not just been among wickets especially in the second leg of the IPL but has also been economical.
Team News
RCB: The Royal Challengers Bangalore have already qualified for the playoffs and have a chance to make a couple of changes in the XI to test the bench strength.
SRH: The Sunrisers Hyderabad have been knocked out of the tournament but they can take up the opportunity to test the young talent keeping the big auction coming up in a few months.
Probable XI
RCB: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Kona Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Dan Christian, Shahbaz Ahmed, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
SRH: Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Umran Malik
Fantasy XI
Kona Srikar Bharat, Kane Williamson (vc), Jason Roy, Devdutt Padikkal (c), Glenn Maxwell, Jason Holder, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Siddarth Kaul, Rashid Khan