IPL 2021, Match 06, April 14th SRH vs RCB, MA Chidambaram Stadium. Preview SRH vs RCB in IPL 2021, head to head player stats, records of both Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore at this venue plus the best Dream11 predictions SRH vs RCB.
Key match stats SRH vs RCB
Venue
- Average first innings score at the MA Chidambaram Stadium: 164
- Average first innings winning score at MA Chidambaram Stadium: 174
- Average powerplay score at MA Chidambaram Stadium: 46
- All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 59% / 39%
Find full venue stats and records here
Team form SRH vs RCB
- SRH – L
- RCB – W
- Previous meetings: IPL 2020, SRH won by 6 wickets, SRH won by 5 wickets, RCB won by 10 runs
IPL 2021 SRH vs RCB Preview
RCB will certainly be the happier of these 2 teams following their win against the defending champions in the opening game of IPL 2021. At the same it was not exactly what you’d call a polished performance with RCB’s fielding a little sloppy and their finish to the run chase inviting more pressure than was really necessary.
Still, Kohli’s team won which is more than can be said for today’s opponents SRH who will also feel that they were far from their best last weekend in their game against KKR. Perhaps the one silver lining that SRH can take from their defeat is that they only fell 10 runs short of their target despite it feeling like they were 2nd best for the vast majority of the match.
SRH vs RCB also gives us a chance to revisit the fixture that was last season’s eliminator in the IPL playoffs, a match that was ultimately won by the men in orange. That performance and indeed the victory a few matches earlier that helped seal SRH’s playoff place were based on excellent bowling performances in the powerplay, an area that Sunrisers sorely need to improve upon from their opening outing of IPL 2021.
SRH vs RCB head to head player stats
SRH bowling vs RCB batting
We can’t preview SRH vs RCB without mentioning the fact that Virat Kohli will come up against him nemesis in this fixture in the form of Sandeep Sharma. It seems strange to think that a man trundling in bowling little swingers at 130kmph should trouble arguably the greatest white ball cricketer that has ever lived but as shown in his head to head stats below, no one has dimissed Kohli more often in IPL cricket than Sharma
Of course, if Sandeep is unable to swing the ball again as was the case in the match against KKR then the chances of him adding to his 7 wickets vs Virat seem pretty slim. It was a curious decision by David Warner to put KKR into bat at a venue where there is a statistical bias towards setting a target, especially when SRH have one of the best defensive bowling units in the IPL. However, Warner would certainly have expected more from his new ball pairing of Sandeep and Buvi even if it was just a little bit of shape for the first couple of overs.
That lack of movement also highlights the one weakness in this SRH bowling attack and that is the absence of a bowler with a bit of pace and the ability to hit the deck. While not exactly quick, Jason Holder can at least get the ball up around the splice of the bat more often than not and would add something different to the seam options that Warner has at his disposal. Holder also took 5 wickets in the 2 victories for SRH vs RCB in last year’s IPL.
Holder arrived in Chennai on 5th April so in theory he should be available for this match and could potentially play at the expense of Mohammed Nabi who might be deemed surplus to requirements given the dominance of right handers in the RCB batting line-up. Nabi has one of the best records vs left-handers in IPL history.
In terms of players returning, RCB’s batting is likely to be strengthened by Devdutt Paddikal who was self-isolating following a positive Covid-19 test back in March. It’s not thought that the young left-hander was particularly unwell but of course RCB were right to be extra cautious and would certainly not want an outbreak within the camp to ruin their chances of a first title in IPL 2021. His return would see Washington Sundar drop back down the order and to be quite frank the all-rounder who has put in some excellent batting displays in red ball cricket for India of late, looked a little out of his depth in an IPL powerplay.
As usual, SRH will be reliant on Rashid Khan to provide penetration in the middle overs and his head to head record vs AB de Villiers is very good.
In any preview of SRH vs RCB, the head to head match up between these 2 greats of the the T20 era will be one to behold. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think AB would have that kind of match winning innings in him vs KKR given the lack of competitive cricket he has played in the last 5 months but it just shows what a classy operator and professional he remains.
RCB bowling vs SRH batting
The big plus (literally as well as metaphorically) for RCB’s bowling attack was the debut of Kyle Jamieson whose high fee at auction raised a few eyebrows given his lack of T20 experience at the top level but who started IPL 2021 with a very solid performance. The test for the Kiwi will come when he’s put under a little more pressure and no doubt the likes of Warner and Bairstow will be targeting Jamieson during this match.
From a good start in the powerplay to a spectacular finish at the death, Harshal Patel was undoubtedly the star bowler of IPL 2021’s opening fixtures and he certainly provides some much needed wicket taking towards the death overs for RCB, something that has been missing from previous campaigns. In the fixture SRH vs RCB he’ll be up against young Abdul Samad whose reputation as a six hitter in the closing stages continues to grow and surely SRH will be tempted to bring him in a bit earlier than they did in their opening match of IPL 2021.
The one blotch on the bowling performance of RCB in their first game of IPL 2021 would be that of leg-spinner Chahal who is usually Mr. Consistent for the Bangalore based franchise. Having had a difficult time of it against England in the T20 series last month he went around the park a little on Friday night (although he’s probably still wandering how he didn’t get Chris Lynn out) but his head to head record vs the majority of the SRH top order is strong with the exception of David Warner who scores runs for fun against him.
It stands to reason then that if RCB can start well in the powerplay again and claim the key wicket of David Warner early then Chahal could get amongst their right handers.
