RCB vs SRH IPL 2019 preview: Virtual eliminator for SRH

SRH play their last league match against RCB at Bengaluru on Saturday and the equation for them is simple. A win will almost take them in the play-offs thanks to their superior run-rate however defeat will push their play-offs chances on a tight rope with they needing KKR and RR to lose their respective final matches.

Meanwhile RCB have had another disappointing IPL season but they will at least want to finish on a high note and possibly not at the bottom of points table.

Team News:

Marcus Stoinis has returned to Australia to prepare for the World Cup which means Shimron Hetmyer may get a game or RCB can also go with Collin de Grandhomme to have the extra cushion of medium pace bowling.

The final RCB match of the season is only one day away! Our Red Army is playing against the Sunrisers. Let's all come together one last time this season and cheer for them as they #PlayBold! pic.twitter.com/ArGK4tc7ai

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 3, 2019

Form Guide:

Manish Pandy’s resurgence has given SRH the much needed strength but with Warner and Bairstow gone their batting looks in trouble. Kane Williamson too hasn’t scored a lot of runs however Mohammad Nabi has made the most of his limited chances.

Khaleel Ahmed has complimented Rashid Khan extremely well and at moments has overshadowed Bhuvneshwar Kumar as well.

For RCB, AB de Villiers has scored runs while Parthiv Patel has quietly kept things steady at the top of the order. Kohli has shown his class on a few occasions but the pace bowling department has disappointed the team the most. Yuzvendra Chahal though has had another impressive IPL season.

Mumbai ✈ Bangalore

For our last league game of #VIVOIPL 2019!
#OrangeArmy #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/V104TLiPcg

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 3, 2019

Key Numbers:

• SRH has an upper hand over RCB in head to head matches. SRH has won eight while RCB has won just five games.

• Bangalore though has done well at the Chinnaswamy stadium. They have won four of the seven matches played here. On the other hand, the last few matches have been dominated by Hyderabad. RCB has won only once in their last seven matches against SRH.

Players in focus:

RCB’s unsung hero this season, Parthiv Patel has scored 373 runs and is their third highest run-scorer in IPL 2019. He has two fifties in 13 innings but his strike rate in the Powerplays is among the best in IPL season 12.

By scoring three fifties in his last four innings, Manish Pandey has turned the tables in IPL 2019. He has  scored 305 runs in this season and he averages 50.83 and importantly he has remained not-out twice in his last four innings. Can he make a difference against a depleted RCB pace bowling attack?