RCB vs SRH: On Sunday, two teams that have a hope of making it to the fourth position will lock horns with each other. This clash will feature Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad, competing for two vital points. Both teams are hopeful of making it to the top four, and this match will decide many things.
The match will kick off in the afternoon at 3:30 PM at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After winning five matches on the trot, SRH have lost it competitively and are coming off a hat-trick of defeats. Royal Challengers Bangalore won their last match against the defending champions and ended their losing streak. However, SRH won the last match, between the two, so it will be interesting to see how RCB bounces back.
RCB vs SRH: Match Preview and Prediction
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Faf Du Plessis-led team are going through a mixed season. Sometimes they look unbeatable and sometimes they lose because of their own mistakes. And with only a few matches left and the tournament getting into a tough phase, this kind of cricket will not do anything. Bangalore needs to show some consistency now. However, the plus point for them is that their main players all contributed in the last match against Chennai Super Kings.
As a result, they outplayed the defending champions in all the departments. Faf Du Plessis scored runs, and Virat struggled a bit but has some runs under his belt. Glenn Maxwell was unlucky with the bat, but with the ball he played a crucial role. Dinesh Karthik did what he is good at. But RCB badly needed this win to be in the race for the playoffs.
Probably XI: Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (Wk), Mahipal Lomror, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Orange Army had a quiet decent start in the first half of the season. But since then, they have struggled. Their main strength, bowling, has suffered in the last three matches, and as a result, they have conceded 200 runs in all three matches. That is one of the reasons for their three defeats. The batting order lacks a power-hitter that can chase them to a big total, but Nicholas Pooran has made an impact lower down the order.
The wicket-keeper batsman is coming off two back-to-back half-centuries. However, the last match they won was against RCB, so they must take that into this match. The team needs to make some changes in the bowling department. Only then can they restrict the powerful batting line-up of RCB. T. Natarajan and Marco Jansen are likely to be back in the team. The return of Washington Sundar is still doubtful.
Probably XI: Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (C), Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (W), Shashank Singh, Sean Abbott/Marco Jansen, Shreyas Gopal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan/Kartik Tyagi, Umran Malik.
RCB vs SRH Match, Pitch and Toss Update
The pitch at Wankhede is always good for the pace bowlers at the start. Overall, it is a complete batting surface. Batsmen can play their shots on the up without thinking about any uneven bounce. The average score at this pitch is 180. The toss becomes crucial in the T20 game, as winning the toss will give an extra edge. The team winning the toss should field first, as chasing will be easier than batting first. The team batting second has won six out of nine matches on this pitch this season.
RCB vs SRH: Head to Head
Both teams have met a total of 21 times in the history of the IPL. But SRH is ahead of RCB in terms of wins. So far, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have won 18 matches, as compared to SRH’s 8 wins. The Orange Army also won the previous match between the two this season.
IPL 2022: RCB vs SRH: Players to watch out for
Abhishek Sharma will be the pick. The left-hander is playing good cricket at the top and has overshadowed Kane Williamson this season. He scored a quick 47 off 28 balls the last time both teams met. Abhishek has scored 331 runs so far, including two half-centuries.
T. Natarajan didn’t play in the last game, but he will be back in the game against RCB. The left-arm pacer is showing great consistency for SRH in taking wickets. He has already taken 17 wickets so far at an average of 17.82.
Faf du Plessis played a really quick innings of 38 off 22 balls against CSK in the last match. He gave a solid start to the team, and that’s what he is doing this season for RCB. The skipper has been among the runs and has scored 316 runs in 11 innings at a good strike rate of 130.04.
Harshal Patel got the ball to do the talking in the last match. He was named “Man of the Match” for his performance of 3/35 against CSK. So far, he has taken 13 wickets this season at an impressive economy of 7.78.
IPL 2022: Predicted 11 team of the match Prediction
Wicket-keeper: Dinesh Karthik (RCB), Nicholas Pooran (SRH)
Batsmen: Virat Kohli (RCB), Faf Du Plessis (RCB), Rahul Tripathi (SRH), Abhishek Sharma (SRH)
All-rounders: Aiden Markram (SRH), Glenn Maxwell (RCB)
Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH), Josh Hazlewood (RCB), Harshal Patel (RCB)
Tips: Faf du Plessis or Virat Kohli will be the captain of the team. Abhishek Sharma or Rahul Tripathi will be the vice-captain. Both teams have an all-round bowling attack, but RCB is coming off a good win. So we will back the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win the match. However, the team winning the toss might win the game as well.