IPL 2016, Match 27 Preview: Confident Sunrisers Hyderabad take on faltering Royal Challengers Bangalore

The stories of the both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad have been quite similar in the last few seasons of the Indian Premier League. Both teams have exuded immense potential at the start of the each of the last few seasons, only to end up disappointingly among the ‘middle muddle’ at the end. On Saturday, SRH takes on RCB with the express intention of avoiding a similar fate this year.

The ongoing edition of the IPL has been no different for the two teams. While RCB and SRH have on most occasions bulldozed the opposition with ballistic batting performances, they still find themselves in the bottom half of the points table. David Warner’s single handed efforts did manage to earn three consecutive wins for the Sunrisers, whereas the Royal Challengers have struggled to keep their winning momentum intact beyond one match.

A loss in this match can effectively muzzle RCB’s chances of getting into the Qualifiers this year, having already lost 3 of the 5 matches played so far. SRH, on the other hand, are 2 points ahead, but might find their negative net run rate to be a problem going into the business end of the tournament.

Thus, both teams would be yearning to put their inconsistencies aside and step up to the mark on Saturday.

Match Facts Date – April 30, 2016Start time – 20:00 (IST)Venue - Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad Team News English all rounder Chris Jordan has replaced Mitchell Starc in the RCB unit. Venturing into RCB’s campaign at a crucial juncture in the tournament, Jordan is expected to be in the starting XI tomorrow. The lack of a top quality specialist fast bowler in the side has been haunting the Bangalore outfit right from the start of this season, and it remains to be seen whether Jordan can be of any help in that.

The return of Chris Gayle is a much awaited event in the RCB set up. The presence of the swashbuckling opener has historically been a key element in the success of the team, especially in must win situations.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are expected to go in with an unchanged side, even after a humiliating loss at the hands of the Rising Pune Supergiants in the last match. Shikhar Dhawan’s much anticipated return to form with a half century and Ashish Nehra’s return from injury should bolster the SRH unit into delivering a power packed performance tomorrow.

Squads Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable) – Virat Kohli (captain), Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Sarfaraz Khan, Kedar Jadhav/KL Rahul, Stuart Binny, Iqbal Abdullah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kane Richardson/Chris Jordan, Tabraiz Shamsi. Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable) – Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner (captain), Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, Bipul Sharma, Aditya Tare, Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman.

Pitch Report – Even though the last match here, between Sunrisers and Rising Pune Supergiants, was a surprisingly low scoring affair, Hyderabad has traditionally been known for its run fests in the IPL. With two heavy batting units colliding tomorrow, the surface is expected to be placid enough for the batsmen to go for the big shots with ease.

Weather Forecast - Cricket in Hyderabad at this time of the year can be dicey! And the rain delay at the start of the last game (SRH v RPS, April 26, 2016) here proves that we might be in for some unexpected downpour during the course of the match. However, no prior forecast of heavy rain has been made. The maximum temperature at night is expected to hover in the 35 to 40 degree Celsius range.

Trivia – David Warner has scored half centuries in the last two matches between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore.