By The floundering IPL 2024 season of Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) is most damningly highlighted by their position at the bottom in key bowling metrics: average (43.60), strike-rate (26.4), and sixes conceded (65). They have also taken the fewest wickets – 25 – a number shared with their next opponents, Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have played one game fewer.
Despite RCB’s struggles, SRH finds themselves in a positive position on the points table. This is largely due to their adherence to the modern T20 principle of maximizing batting resources. After setting target scores between 173 and 196 in four matches, all resulting in defeats, RCB captain Faf du Plessis is keen for his team to adopt a similar approach.
“We have to push for that 200. We don’t have as many weapons in our bowling. So it comes down to the batting. From a bowling perspective, we have lacked penetration. We have to get them two or three down in the powerplay. Always feels like we are on the back foot after the first four overs,” the RCB captain lamented after the loss in Mumbai.
RCB barely scrapes through to revive sputtering campaign
Flights back home after such chastening trips usually bring relief. For nothing is as comforting as a well-known and well-made formula. Except this formula at the Chinnaswamy Stadium will also be hand-delivered to the away dressing room – where the holders of the record IPL score will sit – with a hospitable ‘all-you-can-eat’ label.
With the halfway stage in the league approaching, chaos has been the overarching theme of RCB’s campaign. They’ve used 19 players so far, benched their two most expensive pre-season signings – Cam Green and Alzarri Joseph – and are no closer to shrugging off the inertia. But after a groggy beginning that’s already left them flat on the face, the only way ahead is up.
When: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2024, April 15, 19:30 IST
Where: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
What to expect: A chase-happy, toss-winning captain. Even in other seasons, this has been a venue where sides have backed themselves to chase any target in front of them. The two-paced nature of the surface in the first half of games that eases out with the onset of dew has only exacerbated problems of defending here.
Head to head: RCB 10 – SRH 12. The Sunrisers won their only IPL title in 2016 at this venue, beating the hosts in the final. But they have won only one other time on this ground. The two sides haven’t played here since 2019.
Team Watch:
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Injury/Availability: Glenn Maxwell, grappling for form, is also nursing a finger injury sustained while fielding against Mumbai Indians. He walked off the field after the blow. Director of Cricket Mo Bobat revealed the all-rounder had two scans and there was no major injury concern just yet.
Tactics & Matchups: When RCB hosted LSG here about two weeks ago, the visitors were unafraid to use two left-arm spinners – M. Siddharth and Krunal Pandya – in the PowerPlay. Usually a graveyard for their kind, spinners have conceded at an economy rate of only 8.35 at the Chinnaswamy this season and it’s a route worth considering against two left-handed SRH openers, who like pace on the ball. RCB could have two off-spinners in their line-up if Maxwell is deemed fit to start.
Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell/Cam Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Reece Topley, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj [Impact Sub: Saurav Chauhan]
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Injury/Availability: Mayank Agarwal, who had reported unwell, has resumed training and could feature as an impact substitute at his home ground.
Tactics & Matchups: Bhuvneshwar Kumar has picked up a solitary wicket in the PowerPlay this season but enjoys a particularly good record against this season’s leading run-getter, Virat Kohli, whom he has dismissed four times in the IPL. Bhuvneshwar also enjoys a good record at the venue, claiming nine wickets from eight visits here at an excellent economy of 7.31.
Probable XI: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T. Natarajan [Impact Sub: Rahul Tripathi/Mayank Agarwal]
Did you know?
- Mohammed Siraj has conceded 123 runs from 10 PowerPlay overs bowled this season for a solitary wicket
- Glenn Maxwell’s highest IPL score of 95 came against Sunrisers Hyderabad, playing for Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 season
- Heinrich Klaasen has struck at 234.38 in the death overs this season, a rate bettered by Dinesh Karthik (250.00). Karthik has also hit one six (11) more than Klaasen in this period
What they said:
“There’s no hiding away from the fact that we haven’t played the way we want to play. When you go into the competition, you work out what you think your best chances of winning are. We came into this competition in the last year of an auction cycle, you go to the auction, you improve the team, the best you can, you set the strategy, and you come in and you expect to deliver. Now, we haven’t played the way we want to play.” – Mo Bobat, RCB Director of Cricket
“I think you have to keep challenging yourself to try to take wickets because any team can score that 60-70 at the back-end, in the last four or five overs. So I think no score is safe. And you always feel you’re in the game, particularly when you’re chasing. I think most teams will come here and try to chase because they feel it’s easier to navigate the innings when you know what’s in front of you.” – Daniel Vettori, SRH Head Coach
