It will be the last chance of Sunrisers Hyderabad to go through to the playoffs when they meet the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 54th match of Vivo IPL 12 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The home team Royal Challengers Bangalore have already been knocked out of the tournament after their previous game against the Rajasthan Royals was washed out to due to persistent rain.
Sunrisers Hyderabad was annihilated against the Mumbai Indians which have put themselves in a difficult situation. One of the added advantages of Hyderabad has been their superior net run rate owing to huge victories against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Kolkata Knight Riders. Sunrisers Hyderabad will definitely miss the services of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow who happens to be the highest run scorers in the tournament.
Manish Pandey has been quite exceptional in the last few matches and has literally strengthened the middle order after his exploits. He almost sealed the match against Mumbai Indians with a brilliant knock. With 7 needed off the final delivery, Manish Pandey struck a six off Hardik Pandya to take the match to the Super 4.
The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed have bagged some good wickets in the tournament but their economy rate has been on the higher side. Rashid Khan has been the pick of the Hyderabad bowlers and was quite exceptional in the previous match against Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to finish their campaign with a victory.
Even though Royal Challengers Bangalore doesn’t stand a chance of going through to the playoffs, the result of today’s clash will decide the outcome of the final team who will go through to the playoffs. The form of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the recent past has helped Bangalore win some important matches which kept their hopes alive in the tournament till the previous game against the Rajasthan Royals.
The bowling department has leaked runs from the outset which has resulted in RCB being at the bottom of the points table. Navdeep Saini has been impressive in a few matches but hasn’t been consistent along with the likes of Umesh Yadav. Yuzvendra Chahal who has done a sensational job for Team India in the recent past has failed to provide wickets on a consistent basis.
Predicted Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer/Colin de Grandhomme, Heinrich Klaasen, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Martin Guptill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (c), Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Pitch Conditions
There is certainly no doubt about the fact that it will be another high scoring contest at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. In the match between CSK and RCB, the pitch played differently as RCB managed to defend their score of 16 by a solitary run. However the pitch in Bangalore today is expected to be another belter which should be a paradise for the batters.
Weather Conditions:
Unlike the previous match, no rain is predicted for the day. However, you cannot predict the weather in Bangalore. It is expected to be a cloudy day with the temperatures being ideal for the 54th match of the tournament. The temperature is expected to hover around 21 to 25 degrees during the match time.
Match Prediction
RCB might have been knocked out of the tournament but their final group game will be of immense importance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. SRH also need to finish with a win in order to go through to the playoffs. I will go with Royal Challengers Bangalore to win their final match of the tournament. A victory for RCB will also ensure Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals stays in contention in Vivo IPL 12.