🏏IPL 2023: Match 65 - SRH vs RCB on 18/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

🏏IPL 2023: Match 65 - SRH vs RCB at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on 18/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

RCB eye smooth passage to playoffs as they face ousted SRH

However, RCB's last game could be inconsequential if they don't win on ThursdayOn Sunday, Royal Challengers Bangalore shook up the standings by crushing Rajasthan Rajasthan Royals by 112 runs. The victory vaulted their net run rate from the depths of -0.344 to a much-safer 0.166. From hell to heaven. They are currently fifth with 12 points - best placed among three other teams with the same points, and hence with the best chance of making the playoffs.

While Faf du Plessis has spearheaded their campaign with the bat - he is comfortably the tournament's highest run-getter so far - RCB's powerplay numbers with the ball stand out this season. They have the most wickets (30) among all sides in that phase - and the best average (18.46) - while also having the joint-best economy rate (7.41). Mohammed Siraj has led the way on the bowling front.

RCB continue to be on the road - this will be their fifth successive away game - as they now face Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium. This will be the first meeting between the two sides this season, with SRH already eliminated from the playoffs race. Heinrich Klaasen has been a bright spot for SRH - he is their top scorer with 326 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of over 170 - even as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mayank Markande have blown hot and cold.

If SRH happen to beat RCB, they could take a step towards lifting themselves off the bottom of the table. A loss for RCB would be a big blow for them in what is almost a must-win game for them: they can potentially fall to sixth, below Royals, whom they had thrashed to move up the table.

SunRisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Pitch Report

The pitch at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad provides an even contest between bat and ball. There will be some early seam movement available for the seamers, while the spinners will come into the party in the latter stages of the game. However, the surface is expected to remain good for batting throughout the game.

SunRisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Weather Forecast

Clear skies will greet both sides on Thursday. The temperature in Hyderabad is expected to range between 28 and 39 degrees Celsius.

Pitch and conditions

It should be hot and humid in Hyderabad on Thursday evening. The average score batting first this season there has been 172, and four out of six games have been won batting first.

Form guide - (last five matches; most recent first)

Sunrisers Hyderabad LLWLW

Royal Challengers Bangalore WLLWL

Team news

Both Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasaranga had missed RCB's last match due to niggles, and there has been no official update on them since.

Head-to-head:

SRH have won 12 of the 21 fixtures played between the two sides, including the final of the 2016 season which was played in Bangalore. In Hyderabad, RCB have won just once in 7 outings. SRH, however, have been woeful at home this season - winning just 1 in six.

Stats that matter

• After dismissing Wriddhiman Saha against Titans, Bhuvneshwar consolidated his position at the top of the most wicket-takers in the first over of an IPL game. He now leads with 25 wickets, and is joint second this season with five, along with Siraj.
• RCB's reliance on their top order is evident by the fact that No. 5 onwards, their batters have the lowest runs (443), and thus also the lowest average (15.82), among all teams this season.
• For a minimum of 25 balls faced from pace bowlers in T20s, Glenn Maxwell's strike rate of 96 and 105 against T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar is his lowest and third lowest, respectively. Meanwhile, Maxwell has played more than double the number of balls (146) while batting at No. 4 this season, than he has while at No. 3 (64).
• SRH have won six games - including a Super Over victory - against RCB in Hyderabad. Their only loss was a rain-affected DLS defeat in 2015. Karn Sharma, who was then with SRH, will now be in the opposition camp.

Unlike in a season of football around the world, IPL offers no real easy, lopsided fixture. It's just the nature of the sport and the quality - on paper, at the very least - across the 10 teams. Yet, RCB should head to Hyderabad with renewed hope knowing that they take on a side that has struggled for cohesion all season and whose campaign has already come to a disappointing and premature end.

The renewed hope also stems from RCB's statement win over Rajasthan Royals from three nights ago that hit two birds with one stone for Faf du Plessis's side - dent a fellow top-four aspirant and gain a massive NRR boost. A win on Thursday will take RCB to 14 points and give them the advantage of knowing what exactly they need to do next to make it through to the playoffs as their last game is the final league game of the season. Long story, short - the ball is still very much in their court.

For all to go to plan, RCB need a bright start with the ball. They have the worst ER in the middle and the death overs but are effective in the first six, having picked the most wickets in that phase this season (30). They could truly dictate terms with consistency in this period as SRH have been shaky starters, with the second worst run rate in the batting PowerPlay, and the least boundary count (85 - 74 fours, 11 sixes). A lot of such numbers for SRH flatter to deceive because of how their overall season has been - massively underwhelming. Head coach Brian Lara has rued the multiple defeats they've endured from clearly winnable scenarios, and the fact that the team missed being much higher on the points table. That ship has now sailed, but even when there's nothing to play for, they could derail RCB's campaign and strive to avoid the ignominy of earning the wooden spoon.

What to expect: Batting at this venue has felt like a chore for teams, with a combined batting average (runs/dismissal) of 23.71, the second lowest this season. Teams batting first have won four of the six games at this venue.

Impact Player strategy

Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH could continue using Anmolpreet Singh and left-arm quick T Natarajan as their Impact players - and swap them depending on whether they bat or bowl first - like in their last game, against Gujarat Titans.

SRH probable XII: 1 Anmolpreet Singh, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram (capt), 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Sanvir Singh, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mayank Markande, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 12 T Natarajan

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik had made way for left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed after RCB completed their innings against Royals last match. Anuj Rawat took over the gloves, and Shahbaz wasn't required to bowl. But Karthik or Mahipal Lomror might continue to be substituted with a bowler.

RCB probable XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Mahipal Lomror, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Anuj Rawat, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Shahbaz Ahmed/Vijaykumar Vyshak

Team Watch:

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Injury/Unavailability: None reported.

Tactics & Match-ups: Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes into the fixture on the back of a five-wicket haul, which included four wickets in the final over. Against RCB however, SRH will need him to make an impact at the opposite end as he matches up well against the famed troika - Virat Kohli (63 balls | 75 runs | 3 dismissals), Faf du Plessis (57 balls | 70 runs | 1 dismissal) and Glenn Maxwell (32 balls | 39 runs | 2 dismissals).

Probable XI: Anmolpreet Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, Glenn Phillips/Harry Brook, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Fazalhaq Farooqi/Marco Jansen

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Injury/Unavailability: None reported.

Tactics & Match-ups: Glenn Maxwell in the middle-overs has to be the menace for SRH. He strikes at 160.77 and averages 41.57 against leg spinners this season and should be the batter to take on Mayank Markande - who has 10 wickets in 6 outings in Hyderabad.

Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Michael Bracewell, Anuj Rawat, Wayne Parnell, Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj

Did you know:

- Heinrich Klaasen has the highest strike rate against spin this season - 180.95

-Mohammed Siraj has picked 9 wickets in the PowerPlay (joint-second best with Trent Boult) and conceded runs at just 6.31 in that phase.