IPL 2020, RCB vs SRH preview: Kohli and Co eye playoff spot as Hyderabad look to survive

With a playoffs spot at stake, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to shrug off the disappointment of back-to-back defeats when they face Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League at Sharjah on Saturday.

Virat Kohli and Co will have their work cut out as SRH will be confident after their crushing win over Delhi Capitals.

Chennai Super Kings, who are the only ones to be out of reckoning, have spiced up the playoff race with their last-ball win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday night.

Going by the current standings, RCB are better-placed at number two and they need to win one of their remaining two games – against SRH or DC – to make the cut. And even if RCB lose both their matches and stay on 14 points, they can still qualify. But for that they need favourable results from other games.

But RCB can ill afford to lose both their last two games as it will affect their NRR.

SRH, on the other hand,are in do-or-die territory. Sitting on the sixth spot with 10 points from 12 games, the Hyderabad outfit need to win their remaining two matches – against RCB and MI – to reach 14 points to stay in the reckoning.

If that happens, SRH’s progress to the playoffs is all but assured because of a superior NRR than all the teams which can finish on 14 points. RCB need to regroup as their confidence definitely took a beating after crushing defeats at the hands of MI and CSK.

While CSK defeated Kohli’s men by eight wickets in Dubai, MI beat RCB by five wickets in their last tie in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night for their second defeat on the trot.

For RCB, batting has been their strength with the likes of Kohli, in-form opener Devdutt Padikkal, and AB de Villiers doing the job. Strike rates have been an issue for players not named de Villiers

Young Josh Philippe, who replaced Finch in the last match, scored a handy 33 up front but the team’s lower middle-order, which has the likes of Shivam Dube, Chris Morris and Gurkeerat Singh Mann, needs to take more responsibility.

Their biggest challenge will be to counter star Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who remains an unsolved mystery for batsmen in the 2020 IPL season. The pressure he builds with dot balls has helped SRH consistently.

On the bowling front, RCB have been hit by a split webbing suffered by Navdeep Saini, who missed their last game. Dale Steyn, who replaced him, was rusty and leaked runs and is likely to be replaced by Isuru Udana.

SRH, on the hand, were clinical in their 88-run win over DC and would look to continue in the same vein.

Skipper David Warner (66) and Wridddhiman Saha (87), were a treat to watch in their 107-run opening partnership against DC, while Manish Pandey (44 not out) has found form in the middle order

Defending a mammoth 219/2, Rashid (3/7) led the SRH bowling unit as they dished out an impressive show to dismiss DC for 131. Besides Rashid, Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan were impressive as well.

Match starts at 7.30 pm IST and will be broadcast on the Star Sports network and Disney+Hotstar

With PTI inputs