Follow UsSitting at the third and fifth places on the points table respectively, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad know that momentum is a big thing in the sport and can help them sustain the pressure of late-stage if they can notch up as many wins as possible now. RCB have been impressive in their performance, except their top-order has failed to fire in unison. The same problem has engulfed the Sunrisers, whose opening pair’s contribution is next to nothing this season.
Ground details and team combination
The Brabourne Stadium has been a batting paradise for some years now. This season, the average first innings score at the venue has been 186/7 whereas the first innings winning score is a ludicrous 203/6. However, toss hasn’t played that big an impact with the batting first team winning four games as compared to the chasing side romping home five times. Spinners have had a telling impact with an average of 22 as compared to pacers’ average of 33.6.
Team suggestion
The team we've picked has a good mix of world-class batters and bowlers. But remember, while you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captain selection
Rahul Tripathi is my definitive selection for the Captain role. He started the IPL 2022 in the worst possible fashion as he was dismissed for a 3-ball duck. However, he was quick in turning things around as he followed it up with 5 impactful knocks. Tripathi has been exemplary in the middle-overs. He has scored 141 runs in this phase, but what has stood out has been his SR of 181.
Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts Tripathi to score 38-56 runs in this match
X-Factors
Josh Hazlewood has had a positive impact on RCB’s bowling attack as their performance in the powerplay and at the death have had significant improvement ever since Hazlewood came to their side. 7 of Hazlewood’s 8 wickets this season have come against RHBs and he has been a force against them. Expect him to be a high performer once again.
Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts Hazlewood to pick 2-3 wickets
In each of the 5 innings, Shahbaz has had an impact on the proceedings. This year he has walked in quite early to bat and has delivered really well. He has seen through the initial phase as he has walked in, and then accelerated at the death. In the middle overs, he has averaged 121 and accelerated at the death by striking at 200. Shahbaz Ahmed has got out once in 91 deliveries in the middle overs phase, the bets balls/dismissal frequency among batters in middle overs this season.
Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts Shahbaz to score 16-24 runs and pick 0-1 wickets
Here are top Criclytics Predictions:
Probable XIs:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Suyash Prabhudessai, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (c), Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shashank Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik, T Natarajan