IPL: Top 5 player battles to watch out for
Sunrisers Hyderabad have started their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 campaign on a strong note. They only lost their opening fixture to Kolkata Knight Riders after some lusty hitting by Andre Russell and Shubman Gill in the final three overs of their game but came back strongly to chase down Rajasthan Royals’ imposing 199-run target to win by 5 wickets.
Having made the final last year, Sunrisers again look a good bet for reaching the summit clash and possibly go one better.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, on the other hand, have endured a torrid time this term. They were dismissed for a mere 70 runs in their opening fixture against Chennai Super Kings before losing by a 6-run margin against Mumbai Indians.
Here’s a look at the top five player battles when Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore go head-to-head on Sunday:
AB de Villiers vs Rashid Khan
De Villiers has faced nine balls from the Afghan ace and has scored just seven runs for a strike rate of 77.78. Khan has dismissed the South African great on two occasions. As RCB look for a first win of their campaign, this will be a crucial tussle between two of the best players in the game.
Manish Pandey vs Yuzvendra Chahal
Pandey has faced 33 deliveries from Chahal and has made only 35 runs at a modest strike rate of 106.6. Chahal has dismissed the right-hander twice and will again fancy his chances as Pandey seemed out of sorts in SRH’s last encounter against Rajasthan Royals.
Parthiv Patel vs Sandeep Sharma
Patel has got good starts in both of RCB’s games so far. In the tournament opener against CSK, the wicketkeeper-batsman was on the verge of carrying his bat before becoming the last man dismissed. He contributed a 22-ball 31 against Mumbai Indians before losing his wicket. Against SRH, he will have to be wary of Sharma’s threat. Sharma has dismissed Patel on three occasions and has only conceded 34 runs off his 56 balls to the left-hander.
David Warner vs Umesh Yadav
The Australian batsman, who has returned to IPL after missing out last year, is playing as if he has never been away. He has two fifties from as many innings this year and looks in great touch for another biggie against RCB. Warner has feasted on Yadav’s bowling in the past, having scored 58 runs from his 40 balls. However, the Indian international has had his measure on three occasions.
Virat Kohli vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar has endured a torrid time this IPL, conceding runs aplenty without any wickets so far. He will hope the challenge of bowling to his international skipper gets the best out of him on Sunday. The Indian pacer has had the better of RCB skipper twice in the 49 balls he has bowled to him and there can be no better first wicket than Kohli’s.
