The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) might have just made the cut, entering the playoffs inspite of losing four in a row, but the stakes are different altogether as they face the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the first eliminator of IPL 2020. And yes, as the name suggests, they can’t afford to falter anymore, because if they do, even slightly, in-form SRH would be quick to pounce on the opportunity.
These are two teams who have had contrasting fates in the tournament, and as things stand right now, SRH would be the happier side. SRH have entered the playoffs on the back of three brilliant wins, against the three other sides that have qualified, and if not anything else, it would have imbued the side with unprecedented amounts of confidence.
RCB on the other hand, would feel deflated and find themselves second guessing themselves as well as their team combinations. Four losses on the trot would unsettle any side, and a knock-out game right after that is the worst anyone can hope for.
For SRH, it’s the unlikely heroes alongside some proven campaigners that have carried the team into the playoffs. Wriddhiman Saha replacing Jonny Bairstow, Sandeep Sharma replacing Bhuvi and Jason Holder fitting into the plans the team had for Mitchell Marsh. The presence of Williamson, Holder and the form of Shah have also allowed Warner to return to his old self, something that was needed for SRH to do well.
For RCB, there are problems, and problems they will need immediate solutions to. After looking like a settled squad for a while, they are again scampering for solutions to the problems they have faced since the very beginning. Their batting looks empty beyond Ab de Villers and Virat Kohli and their bowling attack seems to lack wicket taking ability beyond Yuzvendra Chahal. In the last four games, they didn’t look like a side that deserved a playoff berth, before that, they could have even been considered as favourites to lift the trophy. Adding to their long list of worries are injury concerns of Chris Morris and Navdeep Saini.
SRH will not tweak their winning combination while RCB would hope for Chris Morris and Navdeep Saini to return to the fold.
Likely 11s:
SRH: David Warner (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg/Abhishek Sharma, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T. Natarajan
RCB: Joshua Philippe, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris/Isuru Udana, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini/Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
