High on confidence after defeating defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on their own turf, Royal Challengers Bangalore will fancy their chances when they host Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium tonight.
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While the scoreboard states that Bangalore beat Kolkata, the fact is it was all down to one man – Chris Gayle. The Jamaican batsman hit 96 from 56 balls to help his side chase down the 179-run target. That the next best effort was 28 shows it was a one-man effort.
On the other hand, while the Sunrisers lost to the Super Kings by 45 runs, they at least put up a decent show with the bat, scoring 164 for six with a majority of their batsmen scoring runs.
It was his mother’s birthday but @henrygayle delivered a present to every RCBian! #KKRvRCB #PlayBold Highlights: http://t.co/JirMHNKn4B
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 12, 2015
The likes of captain Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik and AB de Villiers need to come up with much better efforts otherwise the Royal Challengers will become a top-heavy side that can be easily toppled once Gayle is out.
The bowling is also a bit of a worry for the Royal Challengers. In the absence of Aussie pace ace Mitchell Starc and Kiwi quick Adam Milne, Sean Abbott and Varun Aaron will shoulder much of the responsibility.
Abbott was the most expensive among the Bangalore bowlers against Kolkata, leaking 36 runs in three overs. It’s a big test for the Aussie as he revealed he wants to excel in India conditions.
“Obviously it will be testing to come out here and play in Indian conditions. As a cricketer you need to do well under such conditions with the bulk of cricket being played in India,” he told iplt20.com.
“Being a cricketer, you have to adapt yourself and your game to any condition and I have been lucky enough to come to India over the last few years with the Australian academy.
“We were here last year in Bangalore as well. So I have a little bit of experience and an idea of what to expect from pitches here.”
For Sunrisers it will be about making a few adjustments to their game and probably look to shuffle their batting order. With Shikhar Dhawan being the only Indian star in the team, the onus is on the foreign recruits to power the team ahead.
There is no doubt Ravi Bopara and Kane Williamson need to bat higher up the order as they can help post a big total, which is necessary since their bowling isn’t too strong.
In their last game, Ishant Sharma went for a staggering 46 runs from three overs while leg spinner Karn Sharma bled 51 from four. If spearhead Dale Steyn doesn’t return in time, the job will be doubly difficult for Hyderabad.
