RCB VS SRH, Match Preview, Dream 11 tips and team....

RCB VS SRH

Match Preview

Assured of a play-off berth, Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to inch closer to a top two finish in the league stage when they play Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL here on Wednesday. Eyeing their first IPL title triumph, RCB are currently placed third in the pecking order with 16 points from 12 games.

Delhi Capitals are leading the standings ahead of Chennai Super Kings. A win on Wednesday will definitely boost RCB's confidence ahead of their final group game against DC on Friday. If RCB win both their remaining two games, they will move to 20 points and have a chance of finishing in the top two.

After suffering two defeats -- against Kolkata Knight Riders and CSK at the start of the second leg, RCB bounced back in style, registering a hat-trick of wins to seal their place in the play-offs. And the Virat Kohli-led side would look to keep the juggernaut rolling in the competition.

Even though he is yet to make a big score post the tournament's resumption, Virat Kohli looked good during his stays in the middle and so did the skipper's young opening partner Devdutt Padikkal, who scored a 40 in their last match.

But star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been phenomenal for RCB in the second phase, scoring his third straight half-century in the last game. Maxwell hit a 33-ball 57 to guide RCB to 164 for 7, a target which they defended confortably in the end.

Batting down the order this season, AB de Villiers hardly got time to sparkle but the move provides RCB the kind of cushion that other teams lack. RCB's bowling unit too responded brilliantly to the team's call in the last three games with the likes of Mohammed Siraj, George Garton and Harshal Patel doing the job in the pace department.

The spin unit is being spearheaded by Yuzvendra Chahal, who has overcome his past struggles with some very impressive spells this season. SRH, on the other hand, had a poor outing this season and are already out of the competition, languising at the bottom of the eight-team standings with just two wins out of 12 games.

SRH have registered just one win -- over Rajasthan Royals -- out of five game so far in the second leg. They would be looking to finish their campaign on a positive note by registering twos consecutive wins. SRH had dropped their 2016 IPL-winning skipper David Warner after axing him from captaincy but that didn't change the fate of the team as Williamson has not been able to revive the fortunes of the side.

Batting continues to be SRH's weakest link, especially in the absence of Jonny Bairstow. In the bowling department, Jason Holder has time and again given them the breakthroughs, but senior India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul have disappointed.

Young Kashmiri cricketer Umran Malik impressed with his pace on his IPL debut in their last game against KKR but needs more game time to polish his skills. Leg-spinner Rashid Khan remains SRH's biggest weapon against any opposition, but he hasn't had nough runs to play with most times.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Glenn Maxwell has had a dream season. He has scored the most runs of any RCB player this season (11 inns, 407 runs, avg. 40.70, SR 145.35), and has three consecutive half-centuries to his name.

Also, Maxwell scored a 41-ball 59 against SRH earlier this season. At Abu Dhabi, Maxwell has 147 runs in six innings at an average of 36.75 and strike rate of 145.54.

Virat Kohli has made four starts in a row (53, 51, 25, 25) and will be aiming to carry on today. He has a solid record vs SRH, with 564 runs to his name in 17 innings at an average of 37.60 and strike rate of 137.56.

Kohli has scored 160 runs in seven innings at Abu Dhabi at an average of 32.00 and strike rate of 111.11.

AB de Villiers is yet to dominate in the UAE leg as fans know he can. SRH may well look to keep Rashid Khan for ABD, as Rashid has dismissed de Villiers three times in six innings in the IPL including earlier this season.

Overall, ABD has a solid record vs SRH (16 inns, 521 runs, avg. 34.73, SR 155.52), but how he deals with Rashid will make for interesting viewing.

Yuzvendra Chahal has been simply outstanding in the UAE leg. He has taken figures of 1/23, 1/26, 3/11, 2/18 and 3/29. Also, he enjoys bowling at Abu Dhabi, with 10 wickets in seven matches at an average of 16.90 and strike rate of 15.00.

Chahal takes a wicket every 21.44 deliveries in 15 matches vs SRH. However, given Chahal’s form and SRH’s batting struggles this time around, one can feel confident of another strong Chahal performance.

Harshal Patel went wicketless last match vs Punjab (0/27), but remains the Purple Cap holder with 26 scalps in 12 matches. He took 2/29 vs SRH earlier this season.

Mohammed Siraj has taken just one wicket in five matches in the UAE leg. He will be hoping to return to form today against a team he has eight wickets against in six matches (avg. 21). Also, Siraj took 2/25 against SRH earlier this season including a maiden, as well as 3/8 vs KKR on this ground last year.

Probable XI

Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, Shahbaz Ahmed, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Siraj.

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

Kane Williamson has made four double-figure scores in five matches in the UAE leg for just the one half-century. SRH fans will be hoping today is the day Williamson makes it another 50+ score against a favourable opponent: 7 inns vs RCB, 320 runs, avg. 64.00, SR 139.74.

Also, Williamson has a good record at Abu Dhabi, with two half-centuries in four matches (total of 187 runs, avg. 62.33, SR 139.55).

Jason Roy averages 24 against right-arm leg-spin with a strike rate of 130 in T20 cricket. The Abu Dhabi surface was good for batting in the recent RR-CSK match, and if that’s the case again today, Roy will benefit.

Jason Holder has been one of the bright spots in a tough campaign for SRH. The West Indian all-rounder has taken eight wickets in four matches in the UAE leg. Plus, he took 3/30 vs RCB earlier this season, including both Kohli (33) and Maxwell (59).

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken just two wickets in five matches in the UAE leg. No SRH bowler has taken more wickets than Kumar’s 15 vs RCB (avg. 25.73), so both he and SRH will be hoping he returns to the wickets column today.

Rashid Khan has a fine record vs ABD in IPL (38 runs at an average of 12.7 and a batting strike rate of 73). Overall vs RCB, Rashid Khan has taken 10 wickets in nine matches at an average of 25.80 and economy rate of 7.17, including 2/18 earlier this season.

Rashid has taken one wicket in each of his five matches in the UAE leg. Also, he strikes every 20 deliveries on average at Abu Dhabi.

Probable XI

Jason Roy, W Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma/S Kaul, Umran Malik

Stats and Facts

David Warner days at SRH look all but over. But, if SRH were going to give Warner a game, it’d be this one. Against RCB, Warner has smashed 647 runs in 13 innings at an average of 58.82 and strike rate of 168.80.

Devdutt Padikkal scored a half-century on IPL debut vs SRH last season. However, he has scored just 17 runs in three innings vs SRH since that knock. But, he returns to a ground he enjoys batting at, with three 50+ scores in six matches.

SRH may look to play Sandeep Sharma who has dismissed Virat Kohli seven times in IPL.

Pitch Report

The pitch has improved for batting since the last match as it was a high-scoring game. The teams chasing have won most of the matches as bowling becomes challenging in the second half because of the dew factor.

(The chasing team has won five out of the six matches played at this venue so far in the IPL 2021)

final team here