Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore will battle it out in the all-important Eliminator at Abu Dhabi on Friday. SRH are coming into this match on the back of a three-match winning streak. They had minimal chances of making it to the playoffs but they pulled off three big wins over Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Delhi Capitals in their last three matches to enter the playoffs comfortably.
Their turnaround was mainly possible due to some bold calls. The SRH think tank decided to drop Jonny Bairstow, who was misfiring at the top of the order and replaced him with Wriddhiman Saha. The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman has gone on to smash two fifties in the three outings since then. Jason Holder’s inclusion has also paid off as he has claimed 10 wickets in the five matches so far. All in all, they look in great form as a team and will be eager to continue their impressive run of form in this match as well.
RCB, on the other hand, have fizzled off after a bright start to the season. They somehow huffed and puffed to the playoffs having lost their last four league stage matches. Batting has been a cause of concern for them as most of the batsmen, including skipper Virat Kohli, have failed to maintain a decent scoring rate. Only Devdutt Padikkal and AB de Villiers have been in good form and RCB have been too reliant on them. Their bowlers have done well but lack of support in the batting department means they haven’t been able to make the same impact as they were making at the start of the season.
Team News
None of the two sides have any major injury concerns at the moment. However, both of them might opt for some changes. SRH might look to add another all-round option in Abhishek Sharma instead of Priyam Garg. RCB might bring in Moeen Ali at the cost of Isuru Udana. Navdeep Saini might make way for Shahbaz Ahmed as well.
Probable Playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad
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
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Joshua Philippe, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana/Moeen Ali, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini/Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Fantasy Tips
- Devdutt Padikkal and David Warner have performed very well at this venue throughout the season and hence, they are the first set of batsmen you should pick in your Team.
- Both Jason Holder and Chris Morris provide great all-round value. Hence, they are absolute must-haves on your side as well.
- The two spinners — Yuzvendra Chahal and Rashid Khan — are the first set of bowlers you should opt for in this contest.
- Saha has been in great form and that’s why he should make the team as well. Kohli is a big-match player too, so you need to pick him in your Team.
Fantasy Team
Wriddhiman Saha
Joshua Philippe
David Warner
Devdutt Padikkal
Virat Kohli
Jason Holder
Chris Morris
Shivam Dube
Yuzvendra Chahal
Rashid Khan
Mohammad Siraj
