IPL 2023, SRH vs RCB: Decoding the key player battles
What's the story
Sunrisers Hyderabad play hosts to Royal Challengers Bangalore in match number 65 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season.
SRH are already ousted in terms of race for the playoffs, having lost eight out of 12 games so far (W4).
RCB are in the hunt for a place in the top four. Ahead of the clash, we look at the player battles.
#1
Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Virat Kohli
Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains the major threat for SRH and will be keen to come out on top against RCB opener Virat Kohli.
With a superb five-wicket haul in the previous game, Bhuvneshwar will be high on confidence.
As per ESPNcricinfo, across 13 IPL innings, Bhuvneshwar has dismissed Kohli on three counts.
Kohli has scored 75 runs from 62 balls (SR: 120.96).
#2
Faf du Plessis vs Marco Jansen
Faf du Plessis has been the top scorer in IPL 2023 and is enjoying a dream campaign. Once again, he will be eager to build match-winning partnerships alongside Kohli and Glenn Maxwell.
SRH's left-arm pacer Marco Jansen will want to stop Faf, having dismissed him in the one duel they faced.
Faf faced two deliveries, without scoring a run.
#3
Mohammed Siraj vs Abhishek Sharma
RCB pacer Mohammed Siraj can be lethal in the powerplay, having claimed 30 scalps in this phase.
Siraj, who has managed 16 scalps in the IPL 2023 season from 12 games, will relish his battle against Abhishek Sharma.
In three matches so far, Abhishek has fared well against Siraj, scoring 36 runs from 24 balls without being dismissed.
He has struck at 150.00.
Probable XI
Here are the Probable XI of both teams
Sunrisers Hyderabad Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (captain), Heinrich Klaasen (wicket-keeper), Abdul Samad, Sanvir Singh, Mayank Markande, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and T Natarajan.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Probable XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj, Michael Bracewell.