SRH vs RCB IPL 2024 Match 41 Match-Ups: Top 5 Player Battles to Watch Out For

Sunrisers Hyderabad will face off against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 41st match of IPL 2024 (April 25, 2024, at 7:30 pm) at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.

When they met in Bengaluru last week, the game went down in the history books as both teams engaged in merciless hitting. While SRH posted the highest-ever score in IPL history (287/3), RCB, who fell short of 25 runs, took the record for the highest-ever second-innings total in T20 cricket.

It was a dream day for the batters as an aggregate total of 549 – the highest-ever score in a game of T20 – was amassed. Led by the trio of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen, SRH have been a dangerous batting unit this season. They are currently third in the points table with five wins from seven matches.

Meanwhile, RCB’s playoff qualification chances are almost over after their seventh defeat of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, they have put up a strong fight in the last two matches. Captain Faf du Plessis has returned to form, Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik continue their impressive consistency and Will Jacks looks promising.

SRH won the last game, taking their tally to 13 wins against RCB in 24 games played between the two teams. RCB have ten wins, while one match ended without a result.

1. Virat Kohli vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Virat Kohli is in red-hot form. Well, he will be challenged by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the powerplay. The SRH star has good numbers against the former RCB captain. Bhuvi has dismissed Kohli four times in the IPL. Virat has scored 128 runs off 89 balls at a strike rate of 143.8.

2. Heinrich Klaasen vs Lockie Ferguson

Heinrich Klaasen will be another big wicket in the game. He smashed a 31-ball 67 last time these two teams met in Bengaluru and is capable of doing it once again. Klaasen is an excellent player of spin but express pace can become hard to face sometimes, and Lockie Ferguson has it. He dismissed Klaasen last time (19 off 11 balls), so this will be a good battle.

3. Faf du Plessis vs Pat Cummins

It will be a great battle between the captains of both sides. These two have played a lot of games against each other for different teams. Notably, Cummins has dismissed Du Plessis nine times in international cricket in 172 balls. In the IPL, Du Plessis has scored 79 runs off 45 balls from Cummins and got out twice. Cummins dismissed him earlier this season as well.

4. Travis Heas vs Mohammed Siraj in ODI

Travis Head is in red-hot form and utilizing every opportunity brilliantly. He slammed a 39-ball ton against RCB the last time he played against them. He is pretty excited to face them again; that’s what he said after the previous SRH game. However, Mohammed Siraj is one bowler who has a good record against him. Siraj missed the last game against SRH. He has dismissed Head twice in ODIs and twice in the Tests.

5. Abhishek Sharma vs Yash Dayal

Abhishek Sharma is another SRH batter who has been unstoppable this season. Head plays well against pace, and Abhishek is excellent against spinners. But Abhishek has found it difficult to face the left-arm quick bowlers, and that’s why RCB can try Yash Dayal against him. The left-arm quick bowler is the highest wicket-taker for RCB with nine wickets, and he can be a good bowler against him in the coming game. He has already dismissed Abhishek once in the IPL in 21 balls.

It is difficult to lock Head with the kind of form he is currently in. However, RCB cannot afford another casualty from the Australian and they will rely on Pace Express Lockie Ferguson to do the needful. The Kiwi pacer was the one who dismissed Head in the last match but it was too late. Ferguson will need to strike early to give RCB the upper hand in the upcoming match.

Karn Sharma, who played for the first time this season in the last match, is likely to be the victim of Klaasen. The Proteas big-hitter will arrive in the middle stages and the battle will be set up between him and Karn. It will be interesting to see how the veteran leg-spinner fares against Klaasen.

Dinesh Karthik has been in red-hot form with the bat. Another battle at the death as Natarajan will come to bowl against him. However, DK has scored 62 runs off 37 balls against the lefty pacer. The pacer has dismissed the batter once in the IPL.