The Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the fourth match of the Indian Premier League 2016 tonight at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The very first match of the inaugural IPL was held at the same venue eight years ago.
RCB has one of the most devastating batting line-ups in the tournament coupled with a decent bowling line-up. Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has been named as the head coach of the team. The Bangalore-based franchise has a balanced side and an inspiring captain who is in the form of his life.
Also Read: IPL 2016: Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted XI
The absence of star Australian pacer Mitchell Starc will surely affect the team but they have done a good job in the auctions to cover it. The inclusion of Aussie all-rounder Shane Watson makes the team even stronger. With the likes of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson at the top of the order it will surely be a hectic task for the oppositions this term.
Hyderabad, on the other hand, after getting eliminated from the tournament in their last league match against RCB will be looking to take revenge. They went into the auction this year with a clear approach of making their squad stronger. They acquired the services of legendary Yuvraj Singh for a stellar amount this year.
The Sunrisers also brought Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who impressed everyone with his clever change of pace and consistent performances in the international arena. The inclusion of veteran Indian pacer Ashish Nehra has strengthened their bowling attack. With the guidance of World cup winning coach Tom Moody and the leadership of David Warner they look a very promising side.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 2016 LIVE Streaming Details
TV Channel: Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Max
Online Stream: www.starsports.com, Hotstar App
IPL Match Date: 12 April 2016, Tuesday
IPL Match Time: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT
IPL Match Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Team News
Royal Challengers Bangalore Team
Captain Virat Kohli won the player of the tournament award in the recently concluded World T20 and has been in sublime form since the end of last year. The Chinnaswamy wicket traditionally helps the batsman and suits the stock players well.
With the like of Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson, it will be interesting to see how they go after the Hyderabad bowlers. Batting is their strength and they would like to keep their strong side up in their tournament opener.
Mitchell Starc is not available for the Royal Challengers but they have West Indian spinner Samuel Badree, who was an instrumental part of the World T20 winning West Indian side. Team selection will be a key for Bangalore as they start favourites in this match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Team
Star batsman Yuvraj Singh is likely to be unavailable for this match as he is suffering from an injury that he endured while playing in the World T20. Eoin Morgan was in disappointing form in the World T20 despite leading England to the final.
Hyderabad has a good fast bowling unit with Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman, Barinder Sran and Trent Boult but they lack quality spinning options. The big players have to take the responsibility to guide the youngsters.
The inclusions of new players has injected a dose of positive energy into the team. Hyderabad is still banking heavily on their international stars and will hope to see them fire from the first match.
Teams (Predicted XI):
Royal Challengers Bangalore Team
Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Stuart Binny, Harshal Patel, Sreenath Arvind, Samuel Badree, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sunrisers Hyderabad Team
Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner (c), Kane Williamson, Naman Ojha (WK), Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Aditya Tare, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman
Best IPL Performances:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 2009, 2011 Finalist, 2010 Semi-finalist, 2015 Playoffs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2013 Playoffs
Key Stats:
The Royal Challengers have a 3-3 win-loss record against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Virat Kohli’s average against Sunrisers Hyderabad is 72.75.
Last season both the teams shared one win each, winning their respective away matches.
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