IPL 2023, SRH vs RCB: Virat Kohli in focus as Bangalore plays Hyderabad in must-win encounter
IPL 2023: SunRisers Hyderabad hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday. While the hosts are out of the playoff race, the visitors aim to stay in the same with a victory, with Virat Kohli in focus.
FollowOpener Virat Kohli will be in focus as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) look to strengthen its claim for a 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoff berth in its must-win match against laggards former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. RCB is currently in the fifth spot with 12 points from as many games and faces two must-win matches to guarantee its playoff spot.
SRH, on the other hand, is out of the tournament and languishing at the ninth spot with eight points from 12 matches. Alongside skipper Faf du Plessis, Kohli is one of the top scorers for RCB. Still, after back-to-back failures -- 18 against former champion Rajasthan Royals (RR) and one against record former five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI) -- the maestro would be looking to produce his best against SRH and help his side's cause.
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Du Plessis has been leading the side from the front and is in scintillating form, occupying the top spot in the run-getters list with 631 runs from 12 games at an average of 57.36. Kohli is the next-best RCB batter with 438 runs, averaging 39.81 with six fifties. But, unlike Du Plessis, Kohli needs to be more consistent and has sometimes struggled with his strike rate.
The other batter RCB would be banking on is Glenn Maxwell, who has made a significant impact with his sparkling knocks, which include five half-centuries. RCB is confident after a commanding 112-run demolition of RR in its last game. Riding on Du Plessis and Maxwell's back-to-back fifties, RCB posted 171/5, and then Wayne Parnell (3/10) led the way in the company of Michael Bracewell (2/16), Karn Sharma (2/19) and Mohammed Siraj (1/10) to bundle out RR for a paltry 59.
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On the bowling front, the onus would again be on Parnell, Siraj and Bracewell to deliver the goods. The last match also saw RCB return to winning after back-to-back defeats against MI and Delhi Capitals (DC). SRH, on the other hand, will play for pride after becoming the second team to crash out of the tournament.
SRH would give its fans something to cheer about by registering wins in its remaining two games. It has been a lacklustre outing for SRH this season, both in the batting and bowling department. Barring Heinrich Klaasen and, to some extent, Rahul Tripathi, no other batter could deliver for the team. SRH was hit hard by the poor form of their skipper Aiden Markram as much was expected of the South African.
Harry Brook showed sparks initially before fading away, while Mayank Agarwal was nowhere to be noticed. Among SRH bowlers, the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the most successful with 14 wickets from 12 games, but he, too, didn't look at his best. Mayank Markande (12 wickets from 10 matches) impressed, but SRH suffered heavily due to the poor form of Marco Jansen, T Natarajan and Umran Malik.
Squads:
RCB: Faf du Plessis (c), Akash Deep, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat, Avinash Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Siddarth Kaul, Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajan Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karn Sharma, Himanshu Sharma, Sonu Yadav, Vijaykumar Vyshak and Kedar Jadhav.
SRH: Aiden Markram (c), Abdul Samad, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Umran Malik, Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Adil Rashid, Mayank Markande, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Upendra Yadav, Mayank Dagar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akeal Hosein and Anmolpreet Singh.
Match details
Date and day: May 18, 2023 (Thursday)
Venue: RGI Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
Time: 7.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): JioCinema
