Virat Kohli will be eager to help Royal Challengers Bangalore maintain their winning run in the ongoing IPL 2021, while Kane Williamson will look to salvage some pride.
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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli has won the toss and opted to field in Match 52 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday. The Bangalore-based franchise have already qualified for the playoffs of the 2021 season. SRH on the other hand, are out of contention for a spot in the playoffs with a win against their Southern rivals, nothing more than a source of pride. A win for RCB will help them mount a strong surge for finishing in the top two spots of the points table, which holds great significance considering the additional opportunities for reaching the final.
“We are gonna bowl first. Have seen the wicket eases out in the second half. We had a bit of a jolt at the start of this leg. Against Chennai, we could have made a game out of it. We were 15-20 short. Every team wants to qualify with a few games to spare. Having qualified, we would want to back ourselves to deliver when under pressure. Same side for us,” said Kohli as quoted by Cricbuzz.
SRH skipper Kane Williamson hailed the enthusiasm shown by the young players in the setup.
“Exciting opportunity for us. I think as an environment, we would try to evolve. There is still some focus. There is a lot of enthusiasm thanks to the youth in the team. We are going with the same side from the last match,” said Williamson.
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be making his 100th appearance for the Hyderabad-based franchise.
“Feels good. When you play for so long for any franchise, it feels good. It shows they trusted you and backed you. So of course it is a good feeling. I think it is challenging. Because after a certain time, the batters get used to specific variations. They plan you in that manner. It is always important to keep coming with new things and also keep polishing the things you have. The seam position comes naturally to me. I have been enough fortunate to have coaches and seniors who have taught me the basics of swing bowling. We just hope they don’t have a good day. You do plan but also need some fortune to go your way,” he stated.
It will be interesting to note the performance of wicketkeeper-batsman KS Bharat, who can be a game-changer on his day.
“It’s a great feeling to be in RCB’s dressing room, sharing space with legends like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell, it gives a huge advantage for young players, you end up learning a lot of good things from the team. We were communicating on what can be done on that wicket in terms of building a partnership (in the game against Rajasthan Royals), it was Maxi who really made it easy for me to understand my role better and he was guiding me on areas we could target. It helps a lot to understand the pressure and professional behaviour, it;s not easy to deliver with crowds around, helps to understand things better, featuring in the India or the ‘A’ team dressing room plays a big role in your development as a cricketer,” stated the player.
Lineups:
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Kane Williamson(c), Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Umran Malik.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, Shahbaz Ahmed, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
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