SEASON OPENER

Holders SRH, depleted RCB out to spark life into IPL 2017

by   •  Published on
Shane Watson will lead RCB in the absence of Kohli and de Villiers.
Shane Watson will lead RCB in the absence of Kohli and de Villiers. © BCCI

Whether you're the defending champion or a wooden spoon holder, there couldn't have been a better time to square off against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. While two out of the top-three run-getters from the last season will have to contend with just watching RCB begin a fresh campaign in search of their elusive silverware, SRH will have the third of the trio leading them. The two sides played out a memorable final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium less than a year ago, and opened the doors for a possible long-term on-field rivalry, but as they square off again, the complexion of the contest has severely dimmed.

The absence of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers threatens to give the milestone tenth edition a very lopsided and diluted beginning, even if coaches and team management assure you otherwise. Given the squad sizes in the IPL, an injury or two can always be countered with opportunity for the second-choice contingent, but how does one begin to fill a void (rather crater) left behind by the absence of the duo that aggregated 1,660 runs last season. And that's not even taking into account their presence and impact on the field.

Sunrisers too, are not fully equipped. RCB's wounds may be much deeper, but the absence of Mustafizur Rahman, SRH's most potent weapon in a title-winning season, opens up grey areas for the holders. Such was their stringent planning last season, that Mustafizur was religiously deputised only for an over in the powerplay and the rest at the death. The subtlety of his variations got the better of most oppositions, giving SRH a winning formula early in the season. SRH duly strengthened their bowling unit, but their fate lies in how well they pick a worthy replacement for the opening fixture.

If the spate of injuries weren't enough to sully the start of what should be heralded as a truly landmark season of the IPL, Hyderabad's weather decided to add to the woes. An unexpected downpour around 6 PM IST denied the defending champions the chance to get some practice on the eve of the game.

History: If there's anything that can steer the tournament opener clear of all the dampeners, it is the history between the two teams. Since 2013, when Sunrisers Hyderabad came into being, the two teams have faced each other nine times. Sunrisers have an edge over their opponents, with five wins, which includes an one-over eliminator victory and a triumph in last season's title clash.

When: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, April 5, 08:00 PM IST

Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

What to expect: While the temperature during the day is expected to soar up to 40 degrees, the good news from the forecast is that there's very little chance of rain when the game goes underway in the evening.

Team News

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Finding balance and their best four foreign players could be the first massive task facing Sunrisers. Besides David Warner, Moises Henriques's resourcefulness, as a batsman in a shaky top-order and a vital bowler outside of the powerplay, should help him retain his spot. For the next two foreign slots, SRH could look at bringing in spinning all-rounder Mohammad Nabi in place of Mustafizur, hold onto Ben Cutting, the unlikely hero of the final last season, and play a second spinner in Bipul Sharma.

Alternatively, Cutting could make way for leg-spinner Rashid Khan while Barinder Sran or even Mohammad Siraj can play in place of Bipul Sharma, to beef up the fast-bowling department spearheaded by Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Probable XI: David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, Mohammad Nabi, Ben Cutting, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The absence of Kohli and Rahul opens a window of opportunity for Shane Watson to play in a preferred top-order position. The idea of an opening combination of Chris Gayle and Shane Watson could be tempting, but the flimsiness of the rest of the batting order could stop Watson in his tracks. If a change of heart prompts him to stay in the middle order, promising youngster Mandeep Singh could walk out with Gayle at the top. The current state of the side also gives Travis Head a chance to make good on a T20 strike rate of 141.67.

While the batting sorts itself out, it will be imperative for new signing Tymal Mills to hit the ground running straightaway to give the team the sort of balance that champions are made of.

Probable XI: Chris Gayle, Shane Watson (stand-in captain), Mandeep Singh, Travis Head, Kedar Jadhav, Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tymal Mills, Sreenath Arvind/Aniket Choudhary

What they said:

"T20 cricket is a pretty level playing field, regardless of teams suffering with injury blows. We certainly have got huge amount of respect for, not only RCB, but everyone in this competition. And we know that tomorrow night's going to be a difficult match for us, regardless of the fact that we beat them in the final, regardless of the fact that they've got a number of injuries and that we're playing at home,"

- SRH coach Tom Moody is not taking, what many would view as a favourable situation, for granted.

Did you know?

- RCB have won their first match in each of the six editions starting from 2011 while SRH started on the wrong foot on each of their last three seasons.

- David Warner has scored a fifty in each of his seven games for SRH against RCB in IPL. His scores read 61, 59, 57, 52 not out, 58, 92 and 69.

- RCB will be without the services of Virat Kohli for the first time since the inaugural season. He has appeared in 139 of the 140 matches played by RCB in IPL.

- Chris Gayle is 63 short of becoming the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in 20-over cricket.

ShareTweet

RELATED STORIES

COMMENTS

Move to top
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
soxtry.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
maw-pr.com
zaaksen.com
ypxsptbfd7.com
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
onlinenewsofindia.com
worldgraphic-team.com
bnsrz.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
webmanicura.com
osostore.com
softsmob.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
odskc.com
inzziln.info
leaiiln.info
cq-oa.com
dqtianshun.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
bartoysdirect.com
taquerialoscompadresdc.com
aaoodln.info
amcckln.info
drvrnln.info
dwabmln.info
fcsjoln.info
hlonxln.info
kcmeiln.info
kplrrln.info
fatcatoons.com
91guoys.com
signupforfreehosting.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
topsedu.xyz
xmxm7.com
x332.xyz
sportstrainingblog.com
autopartspares.com
readguy.net
soniasegreto.com
bobbygdavis.com
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
qazwsxedcokmijn.com
parabis.net
terriesandelin.com
luxuryhomme.com
studyexpanse.com
ronoom.com
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
snn01.com
hope-kelley.com
bancodeprofissionais.com
zjccp99.com
liturgycreator.com
weedsmj.com
majorelenco.com
colcollect.com
androidnews-jp.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
nova-click.com
abeautifulcrazylife.com
diggmobile.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
sizam-design.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
bamthemes.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com
avgo.top