IPL 2017, SRH v RCB: 5 winning factors

Strategy

Unlike last season, Shane Watson needs to have a big impact with the bat as well

SRH play the anaconda game, stifling the opponent, squeezing them without giving away runs and winning low-scoring thrillers. RCB, on the other hand, are flamboyant, given their home ground allows them freedom with the bat.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, however, doesn’t give RCB the same freedom. The Reds need Chris Gayle to settle down before unleashing his shots, given Kohli, who is brilliant even on slow pitches, and AB de Villiers, who can play ridiculous shots all around the park, are both absent. Watson, meanwhile, has the task to hold the middle order together.

As far as SRH’s strategy is concerned, it will be to get Gayle and Watson cheaply and that would probably be game, set and match. Gayle has in the past smashed both the new ball bowlers of SRH but not in Hyderabad. Both Nehra and Bhuvneshwar have the ability to swing the ball and that could be Gayle’s undoing.