IPL 2021, SRH vs RCB: 3 player battles to watch out for

The industrious Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) take on a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai in their second match of IPL 2021. While David Warner's men are coming off a loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders, Virat Kohli and RCB will be confident after beating defending champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2021 opener.

This encounter will undoubtedly be a batter between RCB's batting supremacy and SRH's dominating bowling attack. That said, the last few IPL seasons have seen the likes of top batsmen succumb to familiar faces while other batters have boldly thrown down the gauntlet to the bowlers.

We look at some of the key player battles to keep an eye out for when SRH meet RCB in IPL 2021 on Wednesday (April 14).

1) Virat Kohli and Sandeep Sharma renew their IPL rivalry

It's fair to label Virat Kohli as Sandeep Sharma's bunny considering the SRH pacer has dismissed the RCB skipper seven times in the IPL. Virat Kohli has had his struggles against the swingman despite scoring at a fair clip. The Team India captain has managed to score 73 runs from 55 balls bowled by Sharma.

Adding to the fact that Kohli will be opening the innings for RCB, he's at risk of facing at least two overs of Sharma upfront and will be wary of the fact that the bowler has sent him back to the hut seven times.

Kohli had a decent start in IPL 2021 as the team scampered to a last-ball win against the Mumbai Indians. Sharma has enjoyed considerable success against RCB, bagging 23 wickets from his 55.1 overs against the Bengaluru-based side.

2) AB De Villiers vs Rashid Khan

The batsman with the best footwork against the world's No.2 ranked T20 bowler. De Villiers enjoys a good record against SRH, however, Rashid Khan is a tough customer for even the best batsmen.

De Villiers was in great nick as he brought RCB back into the game against MI. When the South African was finally run out, the side was just a few runs away from victory.

On the other hand, Rashid Khan had a decent outing against KKR, giving away just 24 runs from his four overs while dismissing Shubman Gill and Andre Russell.

3) RCB's new quick Kyle Jamieson vs SRH skipper David Warner

Jamieson's doubters were silenced after the Kiwi quick had a fine outing against MI. His 1/27 could have been 2/27 if only Virat Kohli had held on to a catch. The lanky Kiwi will share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj. He will go up against the dangerous David Warner, who didn't really get going against KKR in SRH's first game of IPL 2021.

Jamieson's pace vs Warner's sublime hitting makes for a mouth-watering contest. Warner has enjoyed a good run against RCB, scoring 700 runs against Virat Kohli's side.