One team which is known for their batting prowess and another which is known for its bowling, the two of them take on each other in tonight’s battle to start their season with a win.
Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last three seasons has ended as last, sixth and last again. They would want to turn their fortunes this time around and look for their maiden title with the new additions of the mighty 10Cr Chris Morris, their new top order buy Aaron Finch, and their young domestic star Devdutt Padikkal. Along with Moeen, Dube and Sundar in the middle order, this time the team doesn’t look heavily dependent on their two stars Virat and ABD, and they can look to play freely without any pressures whatsoever. Their death over bowling woes, however, are still not completely resolved, and just relying on Morris for that may occupy an overseas spot with the Indian bowling unit exactly the same as their previous seasons.
Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other hand have an amazing bowling unit, but lack quality middle order batsmen with all the responsibilities on the lone experienced player Vijay Shankar, who also hasn’t looked very promising. With Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan as their finishers, experienced overseas players like Kane Williamson and Mitchell Marsh might have to wait for their chances. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also hasn’t been a wicket taking bowler since the previous couple of seasons, and the others, Siddharth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed have also not been too economical. Their amazing bowling unit is now getting too predictable and it’s on the two Afghan spinners to put on the pressure on their oppositions.
The last year when they met for the first time, Bairstow and Warner both ended up scoring centuries and had put up a 200-run opening stand. This time around, RCB would have to look to put on early pressure with Moeen and Sundar against Bairstow and Warner who don’t play spin quite well early on in the innings, and then take advantage of their inexperienced middle order. On the other hand, Bhuvi and Sandy would enjoy the UAE wickets and would look to perform the way they did in 2014 and use their early swing to get the wickets.
The time when India toured Australia in Jan 2019, Bhuvi took Aaron Finch’s wicket in all 3 matches for mere scores of 6,6,14. Bhuvi would want to take Finch within the powerplay overs this time around too. On the other hand, Finch had been in an amazing form for the Aussies in their series against England, and he would want to continue with that momentum. This would be a battle worth watching!
A stat to note – David Warner has played 9 innings against RCB out of which he has scored 50+ scores in 8 of them, and plays at an avg of 80+.
Probable XIs and why –
RCB – Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal/Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli(C), AB De Villiers, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini
The only choice is between Padikkal and Parthiv for that opening spot. Parthiv has been one of RCB’s core team members for a few years now. On the other hand, Padikkal was the leading run scorer of Syed Mushtaq Ali 2019-20 and had been in great form before covid struck. It all depends on whether AB De Villiers is ready to take on the keeping duties or not. Overseas players like Steyn, Udana and Zampa might have to wait for their turn. They have a good balanced side on paper, and now it would all come down to their on field performances.
SRH – David Warner(C), Johnny Bairstow(Wk), Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Two talented youngsters, Virat Singh and Abdul Samad, might be in their starting XI due to the lack of experienced middle order Indian batsmen in their squad. In 2014, when SRH played here, Sandeep and Bhuvi were great with the ball due to the early swing, and Siddharth Kaul on the other proved to be very expensive in last year’s season. So, Sandy should be preferred over Kaul for the first game is what I feel. Having Warner and Bairstow out there means a player like Williamson would have to sit out on the bench, keeping their middle order in hands of Manish, Vijay, Nabi and two youngsters.
Pitch Report –
The game would be played at the same venue where DC vs KXIP took place. A wicket to support the batsmen up front, but bowlers will collect wickets as well, especially the seamers.
Fantasy Tips for safe players –
C/VC choices – Kohli, ABD, Warner, Bairstow
Analysis of various cricket matches 