Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are set to host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 65th match of the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, May 18. SRH are already out of the playoff qualification race as they suffered a disappointing 34-run defeat against Gujarat Titans in their last game. They are currently struggling at the bottom of the points table with four wins from 12 games and will target a consolation win in their remaining two group-stage games.
On the other hand, Faf du Plessis-led RCB thrashed Rajasthan Royals by 112 runs to put themselves in a comfortable position to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. RCB's bowlers shone to bowl out the Royals on just 59 runs while defending 171 runs. Wayne Parnell and Michael Bracewell made a big impact with a ball on their return to the playing XI while Faf and Glenn Maxwell recorded brilliant fifties.
RCB are currently placed in the fifth position with 12 points and a win against SRH will guide them to the fourth place, on a level with Mumbai Indians. In addition to that, Bangalore enjoys a positive net run rate and two wins from their last two games will be enough to secure them a playoff qualification. However, SRH leads the head-to-head record against Bangalore and have won seven of eight matches against RCB played at home.
Match Details
Match: IPL 2023, Match 65
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Date & Time: Thursday, May 18, 7:30 PM IST
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and JioCinema
SRH vs RCB Probable Playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Anmolpreet Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Glenn Phillips, Abdul Samad, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik (Impact Player)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Michael Bracewell, Anuj Rawat, Wayne Parnell, Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Kedar Jadhav (Impact Player)
Pitch and Weather Report
The pitch at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has a balanced surface in T20 cricket. This venue has witnessed just one 200-plus total this season, which came from Rajasthan Royals in the first game here. The average first innings score here is 159 from 70 IPL matches with teams batting second winning on 39 occasions. But the average first innings score here in IPL 2023 is around 170 runs with teams batting first winning four of six games.
There is no forecast for rain in Hyderabad during game time and the weather will be hot and humid in the evening. Temperature is likely to hover around 34 degree Celsius during game time and will decrease to 32 towards the end of game time. There is a 1% of chance of rain during the match time.
SRH vs RCB Predictions
Best Batter of the Match: Faf du Plessis
The veteran South African opener continues to scorch runs in IPL 2023 with another fifty against Rajasthan Royals in the last game. Faf scored 55 off 44 in tough conditions against the Royals to reach the 600-run mark in the IPL season. He comfortably leads the scoring chart with 631 runs from 12 innings at an average of 57.36 and a strike rate of 154.36 with six fifties so far. Faf also recorded a knock of 73* off 55 when both teams clashed last time during the IPL 2022.
Best Bowler of the Match: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The star Indian pacer took five wickets for 30 and then scored 27 runs against Gujarat Titans in the last game. Bhuvnewshar is leading the bowling chart for Hyderabad this season with 14 wickets from 12 innings at an economy rate of 8.16. Bhuvneshar also leads the chart of most wickets in the past matches in this fixture with 17 wickets from 16 innings at an impressive economy rate of 7.70.
Who will win the Match: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
