RCB's chase for a maiden title enters the 13th season of the tournament, as Virat Kohli's men take on David Warner's SRH in their opening game of the season.
The two of the most prolific batsmen in Indian Preier League history - David Warner and Virat Kohli will renew their rivalry on Monday when Sunrisers Hyderabad take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the third game of the tournament. It has been quite an eventful start to the 2020 IPL, as fans were treated with a Super Over in only the second match of the season. Delhi Capitals held their nerves to beat Kings XI Punjab in the Super Over, with Kagiso Rabada stepping up to the occasion.
The match between Sunrisers and Royal Challengers promises to be yet another action-packed game with few of the biggest stars of the game. The Royal Challengers Bangalore have underwent an overhaul of sorts after a hugely disappointing campaign in the previous edition, when they finished at the bottom of the table. With the arrival of Simon Katic as head coach and Mike Hesson as Director of Cricket, the side also welcomed overseas arrivals in players like Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Dale Steyn and Adam Zampa, among others.
The Sunrisers, meanwhile, went back to David Warner as the captain of the side with Trevor Bayliss succeeding Tom Moody as the head coach of the side. The free-scoring duo of Warner and Jonny Bairstow is expected to be key for SRH's season again, while Rashid Khan will be leading the spin bowling the attack on pitches which could prove to be a paradise for players like him. However, Kane Williamson could be in danger of losing a spot after he was relinquished of captaincy duties, as SRH may opt to play an overseas all-rounder in his place. They are not short in this department either, with presence of Mohammad Nabi, Mitchell Marsh and Fabian Allen in the squad.
Sunrisers' blind spot also lies in the lack of depth in their batting order. The franchise has invested in youngsters like Virat Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg, and Abdul Samad and the management in the hopes that one of them could become the vital cog in the middle order.
A team that is known for its depth and variation in bowling, Sunrisers' core unit remains unchanged. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead the pace department with Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul and Basil Thampi playing secondary roles.
Armed with presence of the top T20 bowler Afghanistan leggie Rashid Khan and no.1 all-rounder in the format Mohammad Nabi, who was in a terrific form in the recently-concluded CPL, Sunrisers have one of the best spin bowling attacks in the tournament. They also have left-armer Shahbaz Nadeem.
The RCB, meanwhile, derive its core from captain Kohli and South Africa's AB de Villiers, with Aaron Finch joining the squad as the opening batsman. While Finch's arrival would likely allow Kohli to remain fixated at no.3, RCB's batting capabilities in death overs remain untested. The arrival of Morris does offer a certain width to their finishing but the side will still need to rely heavily on their Indian players -- Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar in particular, to do the finishing duties.
RCB boasts of a potent spin unit, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will again be the key as he has been over the past seasons with Sundar, Pawan Negi, Adam Zampa and Moeen Ali lending more options.
RCB have also addressed the issue of their weak death bowling that plagued their campaign last season. The franchise has bought South African bowling all-rounder Chris Morris.
The Squads:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shreevats Goswami, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Wriddhiman Saha, Abdul Samad, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mitchell Marsh, Abhishek Sharma, Bavanaka Sandeep, Sanjay Yadav, Fabian Allen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, KhaleelAhmed, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddharth Kaul, Billy Stanlake, TNatarajan, Basil Thampi.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Singh, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Isuru Udana, Moeen Ali, Josh Phillppe, Pawan Negi, Pavan Deshpande, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav.
