IPL 2019, SRH vs RCB: 3 key player battles to watch out for

The 11th match of the Indian Premier League will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Hyderabad. RCB and SRH have some big names in their squad, including the likes of Kohli, Warner, AB de Villiers, Williamson, and Rashid Khan.

Both teams have star-studded line-ups and the match will be a cracker of a contest. It is going to be a battle of greats where the best players in the world clash. More than anything, the match will feature some great T20 players in the world.

In what promises to be an exciting affair, let's have a look at three key player battles that could spice up the match at Hyderabad on Sunday.

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#1 Rashid Khan vs AB de Villiers

The Afghan spinner is one of the fan favourite in IPL. He has been phenomenal in international cricket and there is hardly any T20 bowling record which he hasn't touched. Facing him will be a big challenge for RCB batsmen.

AB de Villiers, on the other hand, is one of the best batsmen in limited-overs cricket. There are very few bowlers this champion hasn't dominated and Rashid Khan is one of them. He strikes poorly against the Afghan spinner at just 77.78 and has scored just seven runs off him.

What makes this record worse for ABD is that he has also gotten out to the leggie both the times he has faced him in IPL. An interesting thing about this encounter is that Rashid Khan often starts off his first spell around the 9th over and ABD comes in to bat at No.4, so Rashid Khan has a good chance of bowling his first ball to the South African legend.

Can ABD score off him like he scores off against other bowlers or will be fall to the spinner once again?

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#2 Virat Kohli vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Photo Courtesy: BCCI/IPLT20

The best versus the best. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been one of the star performers for his team over the past few years. He has been the only player to win the purple cap for two consecutive years.

Virat Kohli has been an absolute run machine since the past few years. Going by stats, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has dismissed his captain twice while the captain has a decent scoring record against him.

What makes the battle quite interesting is that Kohli either opens the batting for RCB or comes in at No.3 while Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls in the power play for his team, which makes it highly likely that they will face-off at Hyderabad.

With RCB looking to find their first win of the season, Kohli will be raring to win a match for his team but will Bhuvneshwar Kumar be able to stop him?

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#3 David Warner vs Umesh Yadav

Photo Courtesy: BCCI/IPLT20

The Australian opener has announced his return to the league in his own way. Scoring 85 in the first match and 69 runs in the other, he will be high on confidence and will be looking to get another big score.

He is one player who holds the key to his team's batting and SRH's batting scorecard will depend a lot on how Warner performs. Going by stats, both players have a decent record against each other in IPL.

The Australian has struck 50 runs against Umesh Yadav at a good strike rate of 145 while the pacer has got his man on three occasions. Umesh Yadav bowls in the power play for RCB while David Warner opens batting for the Sunrisers, which makes this clash inevitable.

It will be interesting to see who comes out on top at Hyderabad on Sunday.

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