Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
23 May 2025 | 06:38:09 PM IST Royal Challengers Bengaluru face Sunrisers Hyderabad in a bid to seal the top 2 position at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.The game, which was supposed to be played in Bengaluru, has been shifted to Lucknow because of the weather forecast in the southern city. This could act as a blessing in disguise for the proxy hosts, RCB, who have not lost a single game away from home this season.RCB, led by Rajat Patidar, last played a match on May 3, prior to which they had won four in a row. Their match after the 10-day break was washed out. The team will now miss the services of Devdutt Padikkal. Mayank Agarwal has been named as his replacement They are also without Josh Hazlewood, who has been their best bowler. However, Phil Salt will return and likely replace Jacob Bethell at the top of the order. Virat Kohli has been in great form and this is his first game after announcing his retirement from Test cricket. The lower order of Jitesh Sharma, Tim David and Romario Shephard has been dangerous.Buvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal will have to do the heavy lifting in the absence of Hazlewood, while Lungi Ngidi is expected to play a key role in the bowling department. Spinners Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya have also been effective throughout the season.For SRH, this is a match to extend their winning streak, after having beaten Lucknow Super Giants at the same venue. Having been knocked out of the season, SRH will look to create a few more upsets.Travis Head returns to the top of the order after recovering from Covid-19. Abhishek Sharma seems to have found his form, while Heinrich Klaasen has also looked dangerous in the past few matches.
The bowling has been better with Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat and Pat Cummins as the pacers with Zeehsan Ansari and Harsh Dubey as the spinners. Show more
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