File photo of SRH skipper David Warner with RCB counterpart Virat Kohli.
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner has opted to bowl first after winning the toss against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore in Eliminator of IPL 2020 in Abu Dhabi on Friday. In big news for SRH, in-form wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha is not available for the game while RCB suffered a huge blow in all-rounder Chris Morris.
After winning the toss, the SRH skipper said: "We will bowl first. Dew could play an effect, the last couple of games say so. But the wicket will not change a lot. We are under no pressure, it already started a couple of games back. Unfortunately, Saha misses out with an injury, Goswami replaces him. The trophy means a lot for us, the owners and the fans back home."
Meanwhile, RCB skipper Kohli has made many changes to the XI as the side hasn't won any of their last four games. Kohli stressed it would be important to put a big total on board.
"It could go both ways, we would have bowled first. But runs on the board could prove crucial. The last game opened up completely when you haven't qualified, the nerves will come. It's an exciting time, it's been a pleasure to play here.The seniors will have to take up responsibility, let the youngsters play freely. Chris Morris misses out with a quad injury, Joshua Phillipe is out as well. Aaron Finch is back, so is Adam Zampa. Saini replaces Shahbaz Ahmed," he said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(w), Moeen Ali, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): David Warner(c), Shreevats Goswami(w), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan.
As per the pitch report, the centre wicket will be used today, so clearing boundaries will require some decent hitting on either side. The straight hit between 75-80 metres. Wind was the first thing that to be noticed and it had switched around and was going the other way than usual. The grass covering makes the pitch looks fantastic for bowling. The bowlers should enjoy the grass, the bounce and the pace.
