Virat Kohli and his Royal Challengers Bangalore are IPL mavericks who leave all their fans and cricket experts bewildered with their awful performances every year when Indian Premier League begins. But, that part of the job has been done by Kohli’s men this time, as they have crossed the first hurdle of getting into the finals of the tournament. Yes, the team has gone out of shape in the last three games but the fact that they have made it into the knockout phase is an evidence of the RCB players and team management coming of age and make the right calls when it was required.
Virat Kohli could not have expected a tougher opponent than the Sunrisers Hyderabad who under the leadership of David Warner have shown remarkable skills of turning their games into splendid performances when it matters. David Warner’s legacy with the team has been that they punch above their weight and although they do not possess traditional world-beaters like RCB do, they make sure that they turn up as a team in the crucial games when all of their pride and big prizes are on stake.
The T20 format and especially the IPL is a game of momentum and teams have found it tough to break the chain of losses and hence the Sunrisers are walking into the game with their self-belief at an all-time high while the RCB will have to ponder over a lot of stuff getting into the eliminator. The RCB camp would be kicking themselves for squandering the early momentum and the chance to have a cushion of an extra day by finishing in the top two as they would remind themselves that one bad day will send them packing from the tournament.
Like the sharp contrast between the sides, the captains too, stand completely apart in terms of their mindset, tactics and outlook on the field. The David Warner of international cricket is completely different from the one who captains the Sunrisers while the Virat Kohli is ever so chaotic and animated.
Virat likes to lead his side from the front and while fielding when he can’t lead his side with the bat, he tries to persuade his troops through his raw emotions and passion on the field. On the other hand, David Warner comes across as a cool, calm head who lets bowlers know their roles in the side and that he always takes a backseat while bowlers chart out tactics to better opposition batsmen.
On the night of the eliminator, the qualities of these skippers and how they will marshal their troops will decide how far their sides go in the tournament from the brink of elimination. David Warner has an upper hand in history with the Virat Kohli’s side as they had defeated them in the finals of the 2016 edition to clinch the title and it looks like Warner has started the war even before a ball has been bowled by exulting confidence about their rich history against the RCB.
The presence of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the opposition batting line-up will come as a daunting task for any team and the SRH will have no different challenge than other teams and their focus will be on stopping these two belligerent duos before they hit their strides. The likes of Devdutt Padikkal at the top of the order has only strengthened the RCB batting line-up and with de Villiers now keeping gloves, the team looks really balanced.
SRH does not lack much in the bowling department and probably the best spinner in the T20 format, Rashid Khan will take the onus of taking the team home against the best batsmen in the opposition line-up. Sandeep Sharma looks innocuous with the new ball but his record in the powerplay speaks for his credentials and he will test the skills and technique of the RCB top order.
Addition of Jason Holder who has bowled immaculate lengths and line in the short time that he has played for the Sunrise has helped David Warner to attack more with Sandeep in the first six overs and Rashid Khan in the middle phase of the game.
Date: 06 November 2020, at 7:30 PM IST, 06:00 PM Local, 2.00 PM GMT
Venue: Abu Dhabi
Broadcast: Star Sports and Hotstar
A new pitch will be used for the big game in the context of the tournament between the Sunrisers and the Royal Challengers. The SRH opening pair of David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha has been in a top-notch form in the last few games and they would love the prospect of balls coming on to the bat nicely.
Captains will also have to factor in the onset of due and the impact it can leave on the side which will decide to bowl first. Due has been impacting the last few games and batting has become easier in the second inning, but it also brings in the factor of swing with the new ball in the second inning which can not be overlooked.
The RCB have no fitness concerns in the camp and Virat Kohli will breathe a sigh of relief with the likelihood of Navdeep Saini's return in the playing XI after missing out in the two of the last three games that the team has lost badly.
The last game proved to be a damp squib for a team with so much batting might and Kohli will be hopeful that the batsmen will show some courage and not get bogged down under the pressure of a knockout game.
Devdutt Padikkal, Joshua Philippe, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Isuru Udana, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
The SRH are already in the zone of playing knockout games given they had to win their last three games to get into the playoffs. David Warner has shown the maturity of a good leader along with the mind of an astute tactician by bringing in strategic changes in the playing XI, however big they looked at the time of being carried out.
The SRH have the pedigree of playing in the knockout games as they have managed to reach the phase five times out of the last eight seasons they have been part of the tournament and it gives them an upper hand even before the start of the day. David Warner would be hopeful of a similar performance that the team has put on in the last few games although he would also love to see his side not treating this game as any different than what they faced in their last 2-3 games of this season.
David Warner (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan
AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Priyam Garg, Manish Pandey, David Warner, Chris Morris, Jason Holder, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma
Captain: David Warner
Vice-captain: AB de Villiers
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