RCB vs SRH Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2021 match?
Match 52 of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) sees the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a slightly inconsequential encounter at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
While RCB have already qualified for the playoffs and are currently in third place, SRH were the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention and languish at dead last in the IPL 2021 points table.
However, an RCB win - a net run rate-boosting one, at that - could help Virat Kohli's men put themselves in a decent position to clinch a top-two spot, with their final league game being a clash against table toppers Delhi Capitals.
The first meeting between the two sides in IPL 2021 ended in a close RCB win. After posting 149 in their 20 overs thanks to a dazzling fifty from Glenn Maxwell, they restricted SRH to 143/9 despite David Warner's half-century as Shahbaz Ahmed turned in some late heroics.
IPL 2021: RCB in search of not only top-two spot but also Win #100
During the aforementioned first meeting, David Warner was SRH's highest scorer while Manish Pandey played yet another painful innings that cost his side the game. Strangely for SRH, neither player is even attending matches as part of the squad now.
Since being eliminated from playoff contention, the Orange Army has tried to hand out chances to promising youngsters. Umran Malik was the latest beneficiary of SRH's move as he bowled a fiery spell against the Kolkata Knight Riders to establish himself as the fastest Indian bowler in IPL 2021. How he fares against world-class batsmen like Virat Kohli will be something to keep an eye on.
The other youngsters haven't covered themselves in glory, though. Barring the odd cameo from Abdul Samad, no performances of note have come from the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Priyam Garg.
Meanwhile, RCB are on the back of a superb win against the Punjab Kings. Maxwell was the star of the show once again as he took the attack to the opposition spinners in the middle overs. While he may not adopt the same approach against Rashid Khan, he will be key to RCB's fortunes.
Kohli will want AB de Villiers to spend some time in the middle, and a promotion could be in order for the South African maverick. De Villiers hasn't produced anything typically extraordinary in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 and is the only question mark in the RCB batting lineup at the moment.
Despite SRH having nothing to play for, RCB, who seek to become the fourth team in IPL history to notch up 100 wins, will start with a significant advantage. Kohli might be the happier captain at the end of the the game, as he has been throughout this season.
Prediction: RCB to win Match 52 of IPL 2021