The countdown begins. Less than 24 hours before the IPL 2017, tenth edition of the tournament since its inception in 2008, kicks off with a stupendous ceremony at Hyderabad, where the Royal Challengers Bangalore, following the opening ceremony where the fab-5 of the Indian Cricket will be felicitated, face the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first game of the season. It’s worth mentioning that the The Royal Challengers Bangalore also faced the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2016 Final. The RCB, who started the final as hot favourites, were on course to chasing down a huge target before the wickets of Virat Kohli and ABD in quick succession dented their challenge. While SRH will look to get past an injury-hit RCB, the RCB will look to make amends by winning the first game of the league, in a bid to win their first every title.
Talking about the RCB, the side marred by injuries to key players, Shane Watson has been selected to lead the side in the absence of their regular skipper Virat Kohli, who is recuperating from a shoulder injury picked up during the third Test agains the recently concluded series against Australia. AB Devilliers, who is nursing a back injury, won’t be available for the first few days of the league, while KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Nawaz have already been ruled out of the tournament. KL Rahul’s display of brilliant batsmanship against Australia had made him an important prospect for the RCB for the IPL. His absence is a big jolt for the Vijay Mallya-owned Team.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, seem to have one of the complete sides in the IPL. They have the most formidable opening pair in the league in Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner. Dhawan, who has lost his place in the national side, had been in sizzling form in the Deodhar Trophy and will look to continue it all through the IPL to try and reclaim his spot in the National side. Yuvraj Singh, who was in vintage form against the recently concluded ODI series against England, adds much-needed power to the middle order. Moises Henriques, Kane Williamson, Naman Ojha, Deepak Hooda, and Vijay Shankar are all seasoned campaigners and can step up the gas if need be.
Predicted XI for the game –
Royal Challengers Bangalore –
1. Chris Gayle
2. Mandeep Singh
3. Shane Watson (Captain)
4. Kedar Jadhav (Wicket Keeper)
5. Sachin Baby
6. Stuart Binny
7. Pavan Negi
8. Aniket Choudhary
9. Tymal Mills
10. Yuzvendra Chahal
11. Adam Milne
Sunrisers Hyderabad –
1. David Warner (Captain)
2. Shikhar Dhawan
3. Kane Williamson
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Naman Ojha (Wicket Keeper)
6. Deepak Hooda
7. Moises Henriques
8. Rashid Khan
9. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
10. Ashish Nehra
11. Barinder Sran
