The Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to keep their hopes of finishing in the top two of the Indian Premier League table alive on Wednesday when they take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi, in what is the penultimate IPL 2021 match for the latter.
The Sunrisers know that their season will end when they play their final match on Friday while the Royal Challengers have already extended their campaign. For them it is now all about pushing for a top two spot which would give them two shots at making the final.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Royal Challengers took a little bit of time to find their form after the restart but they have clicked into gear nicely now and head towards the business end of the campaign as one of the form teams in the tournament. If they can find two more wins it could be enough to finish in the top two either with two comfortable wins or should the Chennai Super Kings fail to come out on top in their final game of the season.
The thing that has made Bangalore dangerous this season is that their big, powerful players have come to the party. Nobody in the tournament is currently in better form than Glenn Maxwell and he can carry the team to great things. The good thing about Bangalore is in this three match winning burst they have won matches posting a score and chasing one down and I always think that is a good thing come the business end of these franchise events.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The season has been a bit of a write off from start to finish for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Usually when the pressure comes off a team relaxes and shows off its best credentials but it is hard to argue that is the case with this team. If anything they have gotten worse since the competitive edge to their season left them and that isn’t something which bodes well for them in the future. They still have a couple of chances to rescue something from the wreckage of this season but it will take a distinct improvement for that to come along.
They don’t need to look too deep to see where they need to improve which is one positive. They have played five matches in the UAE and only once have they posted a score above 135. That was the only match they won so that has to be their first target. If they can put a score of 140 or more on the board then they can go from there but it is hard to see them winning if there is not a huge improvement with the bat. They haven’t been brilliant with the ball recently either but it is hard to be too harsh when they have been defending nothing of note.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this tournament! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Key Men
There is no better performer in the Royal Challengers Bangalore team at the minute than Glenn Maxwell. He has made three 50s in his last three matches and is batting brilliantly. With everything else he brings there is no doubt Maxwell is a key man for the Royal Challengers.
There hasn’t been a huge amount to like about the Sunrisers Hyderabad in recent times but one man who has offered something with the bat has been Abdul Samad. It might be worth them nudging him up the order to see if he can deliver the goods over a longer period.
Betting
I think we have to concentrate on bets which involve the Royal Challengers Bangalore here. When the season was done and dusted for the Sunrisers Hyderabad I hoped and kind of expected them to show us what they are made of but that hasn’t been the case and although they could still come good if they give others the chance to shine. I think we need to be eyeing up ways to play Bangalore in this one, although I’m never a fan of backing 8/15 shots in T20 so it won’t be via the match betting.
The best way might be to back Royal Challengers Bangalore to hit more than 12.5 fours. If they bat first there is a good chance that they will get themselves in on this good looking Abu Dhabi pitch and the likes of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers not to mention Devdutt Paddikal can all run up the boundaries but even if they bat second, if they have restricted the Sunrisers to a small total there is every chance that the Royal Challengers go out all guns blazing in an attempt to do a job on their net run rate which is inferior to the two sides above him. There is plenty of scope for RCB boundaries here and with this being one of the bigger grounds boundaries are more likely to come in fours rather than sixes.
Tips
Back Royal Challengers Bangalore – Over 12.5 fours for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
