Hyderabad aim to get back on track against sorted Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore did quite a few things right in their opening game of the Indian Premier League 2021, but the same couldn't be said about Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB managed to outclass Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener, while Hyderabad were toppled by Kolkata Knight Riders in their first game of the season. The two teams will now come face to face in Match No. 6 of IPL 2021 in Chennai on Wednesday (April 14).

There's a bit of rivalry between these two sides, especially since Hyderabad got the better of Bangalore in the 2016 final. Then, there are two captains - Virat Kohli and David Warner - who might be very good friends off the field but are fierce competitors once the game is on. Kohli and Co. would be a lot more confident coming into this encounter, while Hyderabad need to address a couple of issues before it gets too late.  

HAVE RCB GOT THEIR COMBINATION RIGHT, ALREADY?

Bangalore often struggle to get their best-possible XI right in the first half of the competition but they might have already hit the nail on the head in terms of putting out their best combination. Rajat Patidar failed to make an impression on his IPL debut and could make way for Devdutt Padikkal (subject to fitness). The left-handed opener from Karnataka was on "recommended rest" after just having recovered from COVID-19 but is expected to play against the Orange Army. His inclusion will only strengthen RCB.

The likes of Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Daniel Christian and Kyle Jamieson didn't fire with the bat but Bangalore had Harshal Patel at No. 9, which tells you something about their batting depth. However, their batting still revolves around Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers and all three of them made major contributions in their two-wicket win over Mumbai. As we were told, Kohli opened the innings and crafted a sedate knock of 33, while Maxwell and de Villiers batted with complete freedom.

The RCB team management would be delighted with the way Maxwell went about his business on his debut for the franchise, while de Villiers dragged them out of a tricky situation and got the job done at the end. The former batted at No. 4, while de Villiers walked in at 5, which actually played in their favour. On paper, Kohli, Padikkal, Maxwell and de Villiers could form a fearsome top-four, but what if they lose two or three of them in the powerplay?

RCB made Washington open alongside Kohli but the left-hander looked a bit out of place. However, it would still be ideal for Bangalore to use him or one of the hard-hitting all-rounders as a floater, sandwiched between the aforementioned four men. On top of that, RCB went with eight bowling options against Mumbai and used seven of them. Harshal starred with five wickets, but Mohammed Siraj and debutant Jamieson too played their part to perfection.

Now, if needed, RCB could easily play one of Patidar, Sachin Baby or Mohammed Azharuddeen and instead use them as a floater, giving them the license to go in for the kill from the word go. Bangalore would also like to stick with Daniel Christian for a while but if the Australian veteran doesn't fire, they have got an outstanding replacement in Finn Allen waiting in the wings. And, if the conditions demand, they could also bring in one of Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa (once available). RCB could take different routes in the coming games, but for now, and for a change, they look sorted.  

SRH NEED TO MAKE THE MOST OF SAMAD

"Vijay in our practice matches that we had a few days ago was our best player. He struck the ball beautifully and made 95 in one of the games, hit a lot of the balls long way over the fence. It's always difficult in those situations whenever you go in you have to go pretty much from the first ball you face. I think as Samad gets more experience, he will get more opportunities" - Hyderabad head coach Trevor Bayliss.

Hyderabad failed to chase a target of 188 against Kolkata on Sunday and the team management, and Manish Pandey in particular, were criticised for their approach. Pandey (138.64) had a slightly better strike rate than Jonny Bairstow (137.5) but the former failed to accelerate when it mattered. Warner and Wriddhiman Saha didn't fire at the top and that's when Bairstow took the attack to KKR and kept SRH in the game.

Once he was dismissed, it was up to Pandey to take SRH home but the experienced right-hander failed to hit boundaries in the last five-six overs. Pandey only managed one boundary (a maximum) in the last six overs, that too off the final delivery but the match was over by then. Hyderabad also missed a trick by not sending Abdul Samad ahead of the likes of Mohammad Nabi and Vijay Shankar. The swashbuckling right-hander whacked 19* off eight deliveries but was left with too much to do.

Samad is the kind of batsman who could play those match-winning cameos but SRH will have to use him slightly better. Meanwhile, Shankar and Saha would surely get more opportunities but if they don't perform, Hyderabad have got players like Abhishek Sharma, Virat Singh and Kedar Jadhav in a state of readiness. Abhishek and Virat in particular could also prove to be handy at the top order.

Bangalore are slightly in a better position but Hyderabad are known to punch above their weight, and then there is the Rashid Khan-factor, something that Kohli's men would be wary of.

PROBABLE XIs

SRH - David Warner (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Jonny Bairstow, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma

RCB - Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal