Cricket Indian Premier League Prediction

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers - Match Preview

🏏 18 May 2023 - 18:00 GMT +0

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 playoffs door has already closed on the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) but they could sign off on a high at their home venue, whilst consequently denting the challenge of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Match #65 will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, where the home fans will be looking for something to celebrate after seeing their team lose five out of six home games in 2023.

The only thing that the Sunrisers are fighting for, now, is to avoid the wooden spoon and instead send the ignominy to Delhi. Bangalore, on the other hand, could get into the top four with a win – thanks to their positive net run rate – but a defeat could send them to the dressing rooms with a lot of prayers for favourable results elsewhere.

No amount of prayers could save Hyderabad’s season, which officially never took off. Their consecutive wins over Punjab and Kolkata in mid-April remain the only high point of their otherwise poor season that sees them come here after consecutive losses. The 34-run defeat to Gujarat Titans last Monday mathematically ended their playoff chances, ironically on a day their bowling talisman Bhuvneshwar Kumar (27 & 5/30) became just the second player to score 25+ runs and take a five-for in an IPL match.

While having no certainty surrounding their team composition has been their bane, playing Bangalore could be an oasis in their Indian summer. The Sunrisers have won six of their seven matches against the Royal Challengers at this venue, clearly showing who is the boss in this South Indian derby.

History may not be kind, but the present is kinder to Bangalore, who are coming off a massive 112-run win over Rajasthan Royals. That has boosted their run rate, getting them into the green zone and probably giving them a lifeline. With Mumbai losing on Wednesday, Bangalore’s chances have gone up and also their destiny lies in their own hands should they win both their remaining games. Yet, RCB being RCB, don’t rule out a stunning collapse of epic proportions harming their own chances.

One of the reasons why that could happen is their ongoing and unhealthy dependence on the trio of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell. They are the only Bangalore batters to aggregate more than 140 runs, which could come back to haunt them in crucial fixtures. One man who could enjoy this fixture could be Dinesh Karthik, who has scored 99 runs against Hyderabad from his last 46 balls (12.91rpo).

⚡ Key battle: Blowing cold more often than hot, Rahul Tripathi has gone past 21 just once in his last nine matches. That could be set for change if he continues his love affair with Bangalore, having scored five 30+ knocks across 11 innings. Only Mohammed Shami has taken more powerplay wickets than Mohammed Siraj (nine) this season, with the right-arm pacer crucial for Bangalore’s hopes. He would need that powerplay surge to get on the scoreboard having failed to do so in five of his last seven H2Hs, including three in a row. The player H2H favours Tripathi, though, with the record reading: 58 runs off 43 balls (8.09rpo) in seven innings with two dismissals.

📋 Stat attack: Four of the last six first innings scores at this venue have seen at least 171 runs scored.

• The Sunrisers have posted the highest powerplay score in ten of the last 12 H2Hs and in three of their last four matches this campaign.
• RCB have posted the highest opening partnership of the match in eight of their last 12 games.
• Only three RCB batters – Kohli, Faf, and Maxwell – ended as their top-batter in their 12 matches this campaign.
• Virat Kohli has three ducks against Sunrisers Hyderabad with the last two being golden ducks in the most recent H2Hs. His last ten H2H innings read: 0, 0, 5, 33, 6, 7, 14, 16, 3, 12 (average: 9.60).
• Faf du Plessis has a stellar average of 100 in the powerplays this season (9.89rpo).
• Faf also averages an immense 86.50 against the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar across all professional cricket, albeit with a scoring rate of just 6.74rpo in the 20-over formats.
• He may steer clear of Marco Jansen though, having been dismissed off the second ball he faced in their only IPL H2H.