Indian Premier League 2019 Match 54, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

Indian Premier League 2019 Match 54, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

IPL 2019 12 Sunrisers Hyderabad Royal Challengers Bangalore RCB SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad might not have qualified for the IPL 2019 Playoffs yet, but are forerunners for that elusive fourth spot thanks to their net run rate of +0.653 – the best in the tournament. However, they are ruled out of contention for Qualifier 1.

On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore – the only team to have been eliminated from the tournament thus far – have little to look forward to. A win here may help them evade that last spot.

Hyderabad have lost David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, but Manish Pandey and Mohammad Nabi had risen to the challenge against Mumbai Indians. Their Indian pace contingency, backed by Rashid Khan and Nabi, will come to forefront as well.

Bangalore may opt to rest Virat Kohli and Yuzvendra Chahal – though that may be unlikely with Marcus Stoinis having left India. However, if they do not, Chinnaswamy may be treated to a spectacular performance or two. The stage is set for some AB de Villiers extravaganza as well.

Head to head

Sunrisers hold a 7-5 advantage here, buoyed by their obliteration of Bangalore earlier this season, at Uppal. Bairstow (114 in 56 balls) and Warner (100* in 55) had added 185 in 98 balls that day. Hyderabad eventually put up 231/2.

Nabi (4-0-11-4) then quickly reduced Bangalore to 35/6. They eventually reached 113 as Sandeep Sharma (3.5-0-19-3) got the wickets and three men were run out.

Key players

Navdeep Saini (Royal Challengers Bangalore): The fastest Indian bowler in the tournament, Saini has surprised batsmen with pace and awkward bounce throughout the tournament. While an India call-up may not be on the cards right now, this will be his last chance in months to impress the selectors.

Mohammad Nabi (Sunrisers Hyderabad): What do you need from a T20 cricketer if he is good at both power-hitting (strike rate 152) and tight bowling (economy 6.09)? Nabi took the Mumbai match into the Super Over, and even there he was the only one to put up any resistance. The last time he played Bangalore, he had taken 4/11. So…

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Colin de Grandhomme, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Gurkeerat Singh, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Martin Guptill (c), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (c), Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Basil Thampi.

Prediction

Hyderabad to win and almost claim the last Playoffs spot.