Not the best time for RCB to come face to face against SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have been the most dangerous batting unit in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The Men in Orange have produced three 260-plus totals and operated at a scoring rate of 11.2, which is the highest amongst all 10 teams. On April 25 (Thursday), Pat Cummins and his men are set to collide with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who have the worst economy rate (10.8) this season.

So, it’s going to be the most aggressive batting unit vs the most lacklustre bowling unit. They did play against each other last week in Bengaluru and almost 550 runs were scored across two innings. The Sunrisers’ bowling hasn’t been great and if RCB can somehow find a way to stop Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen, they will have a serious chance of knocking down SRH.

RCB are currently on a six-match losing streak, which is their joint second-most in the IPL. If they lose their match against Hyderabad, they will equal their longest streak of losing seven matches on a trot. They must win all of their remaining six games to keep themselves alive in the tournament mathematically. For SRH, it will be all about pushing themselves into the top two on the points table.

SRH vs RCB Head-to-Head 

Overall - Games 23 | SRH 13 | RCB 10 

In Delhi - Games 8 | SRH 6 | RCB 2

Venue details

As of now, two surfaces have been used at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The first one, which hosted Mumbai Indians, witnessed 523 runs across two innings. However, in SRH’s next match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the pitch was slightly on the slower side. Chennai scored 165/5 and it took SRH 18.1 overs to hunt it down.

Hence, we must wait and see which surface will be used for this encounter.

Weather forecast

We are sure to have a full game in Hyderabad. The temperature is expected to be around 33-38 degrees Celsius, and the humidity will be 20-30%.

Things to watch out for

What next for Abhishek, Head?

As a pair, Abhishek and Head have added 404 runs at an average of 67.3 and an insane strike rate of 254.1. Since the two left-handers have started opening the innings, Hyderabad have a scoring rate of 13.3 in the powerplay. What’s more, they have smashed a boundary every 2.6 deliveries. Unsurprisingly, the two have the best strike rate and balls/boundary among all players who have played at least 50 balls in the first phase.

Abhishek and Head have been destructive against all bowling types, even though the former enjoys playing spin more, while the latter is more brutal against pace. The two have been vocal about trying to get to that 300-run mark, and they could have that opportunity against RCB, who have not only taken the fewest wickets (7) in the first six overs but also have the worst economy rate (10.8).

Markram slowing down SRH?

Among the seven SRH batters who have scored at least 100 runs this season, Aiden Markram (135.59) is the only one with a strike rate of less than 159. Head, Abhishek, Klaasen, and Abdul Samad have been miles ahead of him. Even domestic batters like Shahbaz Ahmed (161.25) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (159.72) have been more aggressive than Markram.

Only once has the South African operated at a strike rate of more than 150 in seven innings this season. Coincidentally, it came against RCB last week when he hit 32* off 17 deliveries. The right-hander starts well, with a strike rate of 147.27 in the first 10 balls. That number, however, drops to 125.39 after the first 10 deliveries.

Probable XIs

SRH - Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad (IP), Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan, Umran Malik/Jaydev Unadkat (IP)

RCB - Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Mahipal Lomror, Suyash Prabhudessai (IP), Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson/Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal (IP), Mohammed Siraj

Telecast and streaming details

The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7:30 PM, with the toss happening at 7 PM.

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