SRH vs RCB Prediction: Who will win today’s IPL 2021 match?
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday, in what is a repeat of last year’s Eliminator. After losing the knockout game from a winning position last year, the RCB will be hungry for revenge in Chennai.
The RCB head into the game high on confidence after beating the mighty Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2021 opener. They bowled well to restrict Mumbai to 159/9, with Harshal Patel impressing at the death with a fifer.
In a dream scenario for RCB fans, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and AB de Villiers then combined to do the bulk of the scoring before Harshal Patel hit the winning single off the last ball of the match.
While the RCB are flying high following their win, SRH are yet to taste victory this season. Pegged as the dark horse for the IPL 2021 crown, SRH faltered against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Chasing 188 for victory against KKR, David Warner’s men never truly got going. A 92-run partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey gave SRH hope, but the team failed to accelerate at the death as they fell short by 10 runs.
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Manish Pandey came in for heavy criticism post the loss, with many accusing the batsman of “stat-padding” during the chase. Abdul Samad impressed, but the young power-hitter was left with too much to do at the end.
There isn’t much to choose between the two sides when it comes to the head-to-head record. SRH are slightly ahead with 10 wins, while RCB have emerged victorious on seven occasions.
IPL 2021: SRH vs RCB Match Prediction
SRH have a few selection calls to make which could determine the fate of Wednesday's IPL 2021 clash. Kane Williamson was left out of the first game due to lack of match fitness, with Jonny Bairstow impressing in his absence. Whether SRH will bring back the Kiwi maestro or persist with the in-form Englishman remains to be seen.
Jason Holder has come out of his quarantine and is ready to go as well. The all-rounder was a revelation for SRH last year, but he may have to bide his time as playing Mohammad Nabi on a turning track in Chennai makes more sense.
RCB, on the other hand, will be itching to include Devdutt Padikkal in the playing XI. The young opener, who was a breath of fresh air for them last season, had to miss out on the season opener as he continued his recovery from COVID-19. With the Karnataka opener fit and raring to go, expect him to replace Shahbaz Ahmed in the starting line-up.
The game is likely to depend on numerous match-ups throughout the encounter. Rashid Khan will be tasked with curbing the middle-order duo of AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell, while Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar would like to get David Warner out quickly.
SRH's pace battery struggled against KKR. While Bhuvenshwar Kumar leaked runs, Sandeep Sharma failed to provide an early breakthrough as well. If SRH want to win against RCB, they would need their frontline pacers to send the deadly duo of Kohli and Padikkal back early.
Meanwhile, RCB would like a little more contribution from Daniel Christian. The T20 veteran leaked runs against MI and didn't offer much with the bat. He will have to perform better if he wants to keep his place in the team once Daniel Sams gets fit.
Buoyed by their win over MI, the RCB will start as favorites on Wednesday. While their top-order is firing, each player seems to be aware of their designated role in the side. The variety of options at Virat Kohli’s disposal has helped the RCB paper over the cracks in their bowling unit. Expect them to make it two wins from two.
David Warner’s side, on the other hand, are yet to settle on their playing XI and the RCB may be too strong a challenge to overcome for them.for them in this one.
Prediction: RCB to win