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Pant and Thakur put India A 4-0 up over England Lions

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Hard-fought half-centuries from Ollie Pope and Steven Mullaney ended up in vain during a match that also witnessed an attack by bees

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2019
Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur were instrumental in India A securing a fourth successive victory over England Lions in their five-match unofficial ODI series in Thiruvananthapuram.Thakur picked up 4 for 49, his new-ball spell helping topple the visitors’ top order and leave them 55 for 4 in the 15th over. Half-centuries from Ollie Pope (65 off 103) and Steven Mullaney (58 off 54) helped resurrect the innings, but they still could only muster 221 for 8 at the end of 50 overs.Very few batsmen were able to show any kind of fluency in the game. Among those who faced at least 20 deliveries, only four men from either side were able to maintain a strike-rate above 65. One of them was Pant, who walloped 73 off 76 balls with six fours and three sixes. His unbeaten 120-run partnership with Deepak Hooda, who made a run-a-ball 47, took India to the target with 21 balls to spare.Pant and Hooda’s cool finish was much needed considering England Lions had removed opener Ruturaj Gaikwad for a duck and then posed enough menace through the middle overs that India A were 102 for 4 in the 28th over with KL Rahul falling for 42 off 77 balls. While the visitors may be pleased with their ability to fight back after losing early ground – Pope and Mullaney compensated for a top five that couldn’t get past 25 and later Mullaney and Will Jacks combined to pick up 3 for 61 runs in 20 overs – they struggled to deliver the finishing blow.And so the home crowd were able to enjoy another telling glimpse India’s next generation, their afternoon disrupted only when a swarm of bees decided to attack them.

Shardul Thakur trips up Andhra; Jagadeesan, Yo Mahesh tons give TN first-innings lead

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In Vadodara, Subhranshu Senapati’s century sparked Odisha’s resistance against Baroda

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2017Centuries from N Jagadeesan (101 off 150) and Yo Mahesh, who produced his second rearguard performance of the season, helped Tamil Nadu finish on 326 and secure the first-innings lead against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. Madhya Pradesh, however, replied strongly in their second lead to end the day on 142 for 1 with Rajat Patidar (81*) and Shubham Sharma (41*) at the crease. Earlier, Tamil Nadu resumed on 191 for 6 and lost their overnight batsman Jagadeesan early on the day, who was bowled by Avesh Khan shortly after his second century. Yo Mahesh and M Mohammed, who scored 43 off 69 balls, then stitched together 92 runs for the eighth wicket. After Mohammed’s dismissal, Yo Mahesh had a handy partnership with R Sai Kishore and eventually finished unbeaten on 103, laced with seven fours and five sixes. Seamers Ishwar Pandey and Puneet Datey claimed three scalps each.Seamer Shardul Thakur’s five-wicket haul shot out Andhra for 215 and helped Mumbai secure a sizeable first-innings lead in Ongole. Mumbai’s batsmen, led by Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 95-ball 75, responded strongly in the second innings to finish the day on 190 for 4 and stretch the lead to 307. Resuming on 74 for 2, Andhra’s cause was helped by captain Hanuma Vihari (70) and Ricky Bhui (69) who put on 134 runs. But, their dismissals in the space of 4.2 overs helped Mumbai get back into the game. Eventually, Andhra slumped from 156 for 2 to 215 all out. Dhawal Kulkarni provided Thakur able support with three wickets.Subhranshu Senapati’s unbeaten second century was the centrepiece of Odisha‘s resistance against Baroda as they went to stumps on 316 for 5 in their first innings in Vadodara. Odisha still have to wipe out a deficit of 187 runs, but with Senapati still at the crease, they might have reasons to remain optimistic. Resuming on 64 for 2, Odisha didn’t have the best of starts, though, as they lost Natraj Behera who was caught behind off Vishnu Solanki in the first over of the morning. Senapati, however, raised partnerships of 103 and 105 with Shantanu Mishra (46) and Biplab Samantray (55) before adding 44 runs in an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership with Rajesh Dhupar.

After patient wait, Maxwell seizes chance to open

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Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell revealed he had been eyeing up the opening position for some time after he hit a 65-ball 145 not out from the top of the order

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Sep-20161:01

Australia set new T20 record score

Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell revealed he had been eyeing up the opening position for some time after he hit a 65-ball 145 not out from the top of the order to lead Australia to a record T20 score in their 80-run win over Sri Lanka.Maxwell had only opened twice before for Australia – once each in Tests and ODIs – and his elevation in this match in place of Aaron Finch was something of a surprise, given Usman Khawaja’s presence in the side. Captain David Warner suggested Maxwell had been asked to open because Australia wished to preserve the left-hand right-hand combination, but Maxwell said he had initially floated the idea himself.”I actually had a chat to [coach] Greg Blewett a couple of days ago after Finch hurt his finger,” Maxwell said. “I said: ‘Geez, I’d love to have a crack at the top of the order.’ Sure enough, a couple of days, Warner gave me a tap on the shoulder and told me I was going to be up the top with him. So I was excited about it and looking forward to the opportunity.”Maxwell said he had been envious of limited-overs openers, even having recently made lighthearted fun of Finch’s 18-ball fifty in the fourth ODI on social media. “Can’t be that hard to do it when you’ve got two [fielders] outside the circle,” he had tweeted at the time. Maxwell’s 145 is the second-highest T20I score, behind Finch’s 156 against England at the Ageas Bowl in 2013.”I really enjoy batting at the top of the order in T20 cricket,” Maxwell said. “I find it’s easier to get into the innings. When you’re in the middle order you have to be proactive the whole time. It seems like if you get out playing a big shot at that stage of the game, it all falls on your shoulders.”At the top of the order you’ve got a little bit more freedom to get yourself into the game and play pretty normal cricket shots without taking risks. You only have to beat two guys on the fence. The way Sri Lanka set fields at the start made it pretty obvious where they’re going to bowl. It made my job a lot easier in the first six.”Maxwell had reached his half-century off 27 balls, in the ninth over. He said IPL experiences – especially the 2014 IPL season when he made scores of 89, 90 and 95 twice, his previous T20 career-best – had helped him turn that start into a mammoth T20 score.”When I looked up and there was eight overs to go and I was 80 or 90, I got the sense it would be a big score. I didn’t really realise how long there was left. I think I’ve made that mistake a few times playing in the IPL. I kept swinging until I was out. I probably played periods a bit smarter tonight. I knew if I mistimed it, it’d go in the gap.”It has at times been a difficult year for Maxwell, who was dropped from the ODI squad completely, after a modest tri-series in the Caribbean. He had since also had poor outings with the Australia A team, for whom his high score was 46 not out in six innings across the month of August.”West Indies was pretty disappointing,” Maxwell said. “I felt like I was a bit out of luck there. I just couldn’t get a break through that. To not be on the Sri Lanka Test tour probably hurt more than anything. I understood why they dropped me. I had no issues with that. And my scores were quite pitiful, by my standards, for the Australia A team. I think I scored more in this innings than in all my A team innings put together.”Maxwell’s 145 is just the latest headline performance in Australia’s resurgence in Sri Lanka, after they were whitewashed in the Tests. There is an argument that Australia should pick limited-overs batsmen who have had success in Asia on forthcoming Asian Test tours, but Maxwell was skeptical of that line of thought.”To score runs in one-day cricket in the subcontinent is totally different to playing red-ball cricket, when you’ve got guys around the bat, five guys on the fence, and they’re able to just plug away all day,” Maxwell said. “It doesn’t matter how many reverse sweeps for four you hit, they’re still going to be around the bat. And when you try to defend, one will blow up off the wicket, take your gloves, and you’re out. I know how difficult it is. People say he’s made runs in the subcontinent in the white-ball form so surely he can make runs in the red-ball form. But it’s just not the same.”I’d like to think, on the back of my four-day form in Australia, I don’t think it should matter where my Tests are played. I wouldn’t want to be pigeonholed as a subcontinent specialist, because I know how difficult it is here. All my red-ball runs have been made in either England or Australia. On the back of that I’d like to be picked in Australia.”

Smith, Starc set up record win for New South Wales

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The first day of Cricket Australia’s experiment with a seventh Matador Cup side ended with an Australian record victory for New South Wales, after Steven Smith and Nic Maddinson smashed centuries at Bankstown Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2015
ScorecardSteven Smith was originally meant to be captaining Australia in Fatullah today; instead he made an unbeaten 143 at Bankstown Oval•Getty Images

The first day of Cricket Australia’s experiment with a seventh Matador Cup side ended with an Australian record victory for New South Wales, after Steven Smith and Nic Maddinson smashed centuries at Bankstown Oval. Set 339 for victory, the Cricket Australia XI failed to handle the class of Mitchell Starc, who picked up 6 for 25, and in their first official List A game they were skittled for 59, surviving less than half their allotted overs.The margin of 279 runs made this the biggest victory in Australia’s one-day domestic history, and the tenth biggest in all of List A cricket. The Cricket Australia XI, made up of the best young players who did not squeeze into the 14-man squads of the six states, were always going to find the step up significant against a New South Wales side that boasted 10 out of 11 players with international experience.Had Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh gone ahead as scheduled, Smith would have been captaining Australia on the final day of their warm-up match in Fatullah today; instead he was leading New South Wales on a suburban ground in Sydney. Smith won the toss and chose to bat, and found himself at the crease at 1 for 56 after Ed Cowan fell for 21 to debutant James Bazley.Smith and Maddinson then combined for a 153-run partnership as they enjoyed the hit-out against an attack featuring four players on List A debut. Maddinson was strong driving through the off side and scored his maiden one-day century before on 108 he skied a return catch to Jack Wildermuth off a leading edge when he tried to work a ball through leg.Against what is effectively a youth side, Smith looked about as threatened as if he’d played against primary school kids, hitting to every part of the ground at will. The No.1 Test batsman in the world, Smith struck ten fours and five sixes on his way to an unbeaten 143 from 122 deliveries, and he had support in the late overs from Moises Henriques (48 off 42).If the Cricket Australia XI thought things might get easier when their chance to bat arrived, they were mistaken. Another of the world’s best – Starc is the highest-ranked fast bowler in the ICC’s ODI bowling rankings – caused them just as many problems as Smith had. Starc collected 6 for 25 from his 8.4 overs as New South Wales ran through the CA XI for 59.Alex Gregory was the only batsman who reached double figures; he finished unbeaten on 23 as the final wicket fell in the 25th over. The job was done so effectively by Starc, Sean Abbott, Gurinder Sandhu and Steve O’Keefe that Australia’s first-choice Test spinner, Nathan Lyon, was not even required to bowl.

Comprehensive win for Pakistan A

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Pakistan A sauntered to an eight-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first unofficial ODI of the two-match series in Lahore on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPakistan A sauntered to an eight-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first unofficial ODI of their two-match series in Lahore on Monday. Pakistan achieved the target of 123 in just 16.1 overs, with fluent knocks from Umar Akmal and opener Khurram Manzoor.The win, however, was set up by the Pakistan A bowlers, led ably by Shahid Afridi, who took three wickets for 24 runs in his allotted ten overs. Afghanistan, who were sent in to bat, got off to a solid start, as openers Mohammad Shahzad and Karim Sadiq added 42 runs. Their batting collapse was triggered by a double-strike from left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz, who dismissed Shahzad and Nawroz Mangal off the second and third balls of the 19th over. Afghanistan lost wickets regularly thereon, with left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar, Riaz and Shahid Afridi picking up three wickets each.Afghanistan’s bowling line-up, missing the services of fast bowler Shapoor Zadran who is at the Bangladesh Premier League, posed no challenge to Pakistan A. The hosts got off to a blistering start, with Manzoor hitting a flurry of fours. By the time he was dismissed for 41 off 25 balls, Pakistan A were 58 for 1 in eight overs. Akmal and Shan Masood proceeded to shut Afghanistan out of the match with an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 62 runs. Akmal’s aggressive knock of 47 off 30 balls included six fours and two sixes.

New faces will reinvigorate India – Raina

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Suresh says the limited-overs leg of India’s tour will be different, and there is a [passion] to do well

Sidharth Monga in Sydney 30-Jan-2012

Changes from Test squad

  • Out: Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Pragyan Ojha, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane

  • In: Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Manoj Tiwary, Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Rahul Sharma, Praveen Kumar

Suresh Raina, who has been branded a limited-over specialist but wants to add significantly to his 15 Test caps, does not want to talk about what went down, and what went wrong in the Test series that India lost 0-4 in Australia. Raina says the limited-overs leg of India’s tour will be different, and there is a [passion] to do well. The limited-overs leg begins with a series of two Twenty20s against Australia, the first of which will be played in Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Wednesday.Raina, who was not part of the Test squad, was asked to describe the mood in the dressing-room. “The motivation is good,” he said. “The new boys [who have joined the team for the limited-overs leg] saw the matches. We haven’t done well in the Tests, but there is a passion inside to do well. [There’s a desire inside to achieve something].”We have worked hard. The new boys have been playing a lot of first-class cricket and we have done well in internationals too. It will be a good challenge for the youngsters and we are ready.”Raina promised a better performance from the side. “Definitely. The one-dayers and Twenty20 games will go differently to how the Tests went. Hopefully we will give you positive results. In the World Cup we beat Australia in the quarter-final and hopefully we will do well against Australia again.”The week before India arrived in Sydney was a wet one and, though it was hot when India went out to train on Monday, the practice pitches at Stadium Australia, nestled in a corner under the roof, were still damp. All the Indians really managed on Monday was a long fielding session. Raina said fielding would be important over the next month and a half, over which India will compete with Australia and Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Bank Series.”Fielding is going to be a big factor. We have to take brilliant catches, affect brilliant run-outs. We have to bat till the end and we have good allrounders. They can hit the ball as well as take wickets. We have good variation bowlers like Irfan [Pathan], Vinay [Kumar] and PK [Praveen Kumar]. They have been bowling really well. Hopefully you’ll see good performances from them.”Raina was part of the squad that won the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia four years ago, but didn’t play a single game. He said he has been working hard in preparation for his first international matches in Australia. “I went to the NCA [National Cricket Academy in Bangalore], then practised in Bombay. I am working on my wrist position and have been practising on bouncy wickets.”With the seniors under pressure, it is inevitable that Raina will get his third chance in Tests at some stage. Raina said it was important for him to show the world he can play Tests. “I have done well in the West Indies. I played three or four games in the domestic season, got a double hundred, and I am working on my batting. I can play Test cricket and I know that. I didn’t do well in the England series, but I know I can play more and more Test matches. I do believe in my hard work, and whenever I get a chance I will prove myself again.”

McGrath not interested in official bowling coach role

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Australia are looking for a new bowling coach with Troy Cooley leaving to head their Centre of Excellence, but Glenn McGrath won’t be applying

Peter English01-Jan-2011Australia are looking for a new bowling coach with Troy Cooley leaving to head their Centre of Excellence, but Glenn McGrath won’t be applying. While his former team-mate Justin Langer quickly traded life in the middle for a role as the team’s batting coach, McGrath is comfortable as an occasional adviser to the attack.McGrath, who took 563 wickets in 124 Tests, will be omnipresent at the SCG over the next week and will seek out the fast men to pass on some tips. “I’m always happy to give advice where I can,” he said at the SCG. “I’ll chat to the boys a fair bit during this Test match and see what I can do.” But he is not interested in an official role.Four years ago McGrath retired after the 5-0 Ashes whitewash, but the scenery has changed dramatically since then. “To play the Ashes here and lose is pretty disappointing but you know what? It amazes me how, when Australia was so dominant, everyone was saying it was bad for world cricket. All of a sudden, the boys have lost a few games and everyone is calling for their heads.”He maintains faith in the leadership of Ricky Ponting and is confident the team will again climb towards the Test peak. “I’ve got total faith the boys will bounce back and get back to the top of the tree,” he said.The main purpose of McGrath’s week is to raise money for the McGrath Foundation, which supports breast cancer sufferers, and the organisation’s major event of the year is the “Pink Test”. England want to finish the series with a 3-1 result while Australia are desperately hoping to fight back to secure a draw.McGrath was the master of the 5-0 pre-series prediction but he has had to revise his tip. “It’ll be 2-all,” he said, unprompted.

Kieswetter century leads England to easy win

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Craig Kieswetter confirmed his rich promise as an opening batsman, and ensured he will be making his England debut in the first ODI against Bangladesh at Dhaka on Sunday

Cricinfo staff23-Feb-2010 England XI 370 for 7 (Kieswetter 143, Collingwood 109) beat BCB XI 258 for 9 (Swann 4-44) by 112 runs

Scorecard
Craig Kieswetter celebrates his first hundred for the senior England team•Getty Images

Craig Kieswetter confirmed his rich promise as an opening batsman, and ensured he will be making his England debut in the first ODI against Bangladesh at Dhaka on Sunday, while Paul Collingwood continued his fine recent form, as both men cracked rapid centuries to set up a comfortable 112-run victory in England’s first outing of the tour against a BCB XI in Fatullah.Kieswetter launched an impressive batting display by slamming a brutal 143 in 123 balls in his maiden appearance for the senior team, before Collingwood climbed onto the offensive in the closing overs of the innings, as he reached his own hundred from just 66 deliveries. England finished their 50 overs with an imposing total of 370 for 7. In reply, the BCB XI were never in contention, as they finished on 258 for 9, with Graeme Swann claiming 4 for 44.Kieswetter, who was born in Johannesburg, qualified to play for England exactly a week ago. He had not originally been part of England’s one-day squad for the tour of Bangladesh, but was added to the party at the last minute following a series of impressive performances for the England Lions in the UAE, including a matchwinning 81 in a Twenty20 contest against the senior squad in Abu Dhabi last Wednesday.Today he all but doubled that tally with a brilliant display of power-hitting, including four sixes. He opened the batting alongside England’s stand-in captain, Alastair Cook, who made a brisk half-century in a 127-run stand for the first wicket, and though he was fortunate to survive four dropped catches, Kieswetter reached his century from 101 balls before powering on at two runs a ball for the remainder of his stay.Two of his lives were donated by the left-arm seamer, Shafaq Al Zabir, who spilled a pair of caught-and-bowled opportunities in the first hour, and he was later dropped on the boundary’s edge on 80. At the other end, Cook was trapped lbw by Aluaddin Babu shortly after reaching his half-century, who removed Kevin Pietersen for a duck with his very next delivery, albeit to a marginal decision.Luke Wright then survived three chances in a brisk 25, as Collingwood powered along to 109 from 74 balls before becoming one of three late victims for the former Test seamer, Tapash Baishya.Ajmal Shahzad, who enjoyed a dramatic entry into international cricket with two wickets in his first over against Pakistan in Dubai on Saturday, once again made the first breakthrough of the BCB’s reply, as the Test opener, Shahriar Nafees, was bowled for 8 in the fifth over.Swann then followed up with his habitual early wicket, as Mahmudul Hasan picked out a diving Wright for 22, before Nasiruddin Faroq and Roqibul Hasan dug in to carry the BCB reply past 100. But after a change of ends, and an ineffective first foray from the offspinner James Tredwell, Swann returned to pin Faroq lbw for 37 (107 for 3).Naeem Islam went the same way for 40, and Swann completed his haul with the scalp of Ariful Hoq, after being hoisted for two big sixes. With the match drifting to a predictable conclusion, Wright claimed his only wicket of the innings, before Liam Plunkett bagged two in the final over, including the top-scorer, Sharifullah, for 47.

Zak Crawley steers Superchargers chase after Fire fizzle out

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Visitors post sub-par total despite punchy Bairstow-Smith opening stand

ECB Media07-Aug-2025Zak Crawley shone under the lights at Headingley to make an unbeaten 67 and lead Andrew Flintoff’s Northern Superchargers to an assured eight-wicket win over Welsh Fire.The England man hit five fours and four sixes across his enterprising 37-ball stay at the crease to see the Superchargers to a brace of home wins on their opening matchday of the Hundred, following the women’s team’s win earlier in the day.Crawley was accompanied by captain and fellow England star Harry Brook to hit the winning runs at the end, book-ending a game that started with Jonny Bairstow and Steve Smith putting on 62 for the opening wicket for Welsh Fire.The pair were booed on their way to the crease but they looked as if they’d get their own back on their crowd, before Smith was bowled by Matthew Potts and the Fire innings began to lose its heat.Fire fought their way to 143 for 9 from their 100 balls but Crawley, David Malan (41) and Brook (25*) made light work of the chase – knocking off the runs with 11 balls to spare.Brook signalled his arrival at the crease with a first-ball six over mid-off and his innings brought plenty of cheer to the Headingley crowd, who on this performance may have plenty to celebrate across the Hundred this season.Crawley said: “I loved it. The boys are great, and coming here with Freddie [Flintoff] – the guy’s a legend. It’s a great place to play your cricket and an awesome wicket to bat on, so I loved it.”It felt a really good wicket for us to bat on and the outfield was rapid so the game-plan for us was to play strong shots, and it came off. The boys kept them to a really good total with the ball, and we felt like we could chase that and it was a good performance.”I felt like me and Dawid complemented each other quite nicely, we hit in different areas, so that was good. And obviously the skipper came in and does what he does. He’s a proper player so that made it easy for me at the end.”The bowlers got us off to a great start. They’ve got a couple of top players at the top for them but we managed to take regular wickets, which is what we talked about before the game, and the boys did brilliantly to keep them to 140-odd and that was very chaseable.”

Rock-bottom RCB brace for more SRH fireworks in Hyderabad

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RCB are 10th and in desperate need of a win, but is there any stopping Travis Head and co at the moment?

Sruthi Ravindranath24-Apr-20242:23

Aaron: ‘In-form Siraj perfect bowler to get Head and Abhishek out’

Match details

Sunrisers Hyderabad (3rd) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (10th)
Hyderabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – Can RCB out-SRH SRH?

If Travis Head doesn’t get you, Abhishek Sharma will. If Abhishek doesn’t get you, Heinrich Klaasen will. If neither gets you, one of the middle-order batters will.Or they will all come at you together, just like they did against Royal Challengers Bengaluru about ten days ago.There were doubts about the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers being able to support their star batting line-up. There have been a few noteworthy performances, even though their bowlers have been taken for runs. But in their most recent match, against Delhi Capitals, T Natarajan had an effect in the end overs, and their captain Pat Cummins has been instrumental in slowing the pace down in the middle overs. Mayank Markande has also shown promise.Related

  • Du Plessis on RCB's bowling: 'We don't have as many weapons'

  • Maxwell takes a break to refresh after asking to be rested by RCB

  • It's too many runs, somebody make it stop

  • The good man Pattie and the scoundrel Cummins

In a way, SRH and RCB operate similarly: their batters have done the heavy lifting to compensate for their bowling deficiencies. SRH, though, have been more fearless and consistent with the bat. RCB, meanwhile, have had to toil harder. Their captain, Faf du Plessis, had even acknowledged that his bowlers did not have “as many weapons” to restrict the flow of runs.One positive for RCB is that they have fought hard with the bat despite two consecutive losses in their last two games while chasing large totals. They scored 262 in a record 288-run chase against SRH and fell one run short in the 223 chase against Kolkata Knight Riders. They have had some great individual performers too. But they are missing a key player who, on his best day, is capable of SRH-ing the living daylights out of SRH. Is out-of-form Glenn Maxwell feeling rejuvenated enough to return? RCB can only hope, as that will be critical if they don’t want to give up their slim chance of staying alive this season.

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru LLLLL
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWWW

Previous meeting

SRH bested RCB on an evening that produced the highest IPL total and the highest match aggregate in all T20s. They posted a record 287 for 3 on the back of Head’s 102 and Klaasen’s 31-ball 67. RCB then finished on 262 for 7, Dinesh Karthik leading the way with 83 off 35 balls as they eventually fell 25 runs short at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.1:40

‘Shahbaz, Samad have given SRH top order confidence’

Team news and impact player strategy

Sunrisers HyderabadSRH are unlikely to change their XI barring any injuries. Head has been the player subbed out when they have batted first and subbed in while chasing. In their last game, against Delhi Capitals, they brought in Washington Sundar as the Impact Player.Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable XII): 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Mayank Markande, 12 T NatarajanRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB brought back Mohammed Siraj, Cameron Green and Karn Sharma for the previous match in place of Vyshak Vijaykumar, Reece Topley and Saurav Chauhan. If Maxwell is good to go, he might slot in for Green. They got Suyash Prabhudessai in as the Impact sub in their second innings, swapping out Yash Dayal.Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable XII): 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Cameron Green/Glenn Maxwell, 6 Suyash Prabhudessai, 7 Mahipal Lomror, 8 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Yash Dayal/ Vyshak Vijaykumar

In the spotlight

Abhishek Sharma has been making heads turn. His explosive starts have been crucial in SRH setting up massive totals, his strike rate of 215.96 the second-best for a batter who has faced over 100 balls this season. He’s scored 257 in seven matches so far, but has only one half-century. He will be keen on converting those starts and putting up big scores to strengthen his case with the national selectors.RCB have not been able to get the best out of Rajat Patidar, having used him as a floater in the first few matches of the season. In the last three matches, though, he has played at his usual No. 4 position and has scored two quick fifties, including a 23-ball 52 against KKR in the last match. Patidar has showcased his big-hitting abilities in the past for RCB, his best being a match-winning effort of 112* off 54 against LSG in the 2022 eliminator. RCB’s Nos. 3 to 5 have the lowest collective average of the season (15.7) among all teams, but Patidar’s continued good form in the No. 4 position may help them turn it around.1:29

McClenaghan: Important for RCB to get their angles right

Pitch and conditions

The match will be played on the same pitch as the first game of the season at this ground, where SRH plundered a record 277 for 3 batting first against Mumbai Indians, who in turn made 246 for 5, so expect a high-scoring game. It is expected to be hot on Thursday evening in Hyderabad.

Stats that matter

  • Virat Kohli scored 100 off 63 balls at this venue last season and has registered 50-plus scores in each of his last three T20 appearances here. Overall in T20s, he averages 59.20 at this venue.
  • How can Sunrisers stop Kohli? Call Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has dismissed Kohli four times in 15 meetings in T20s.
  • Sunrisers batters have struck at 177.79 this season. This is the first time the combined strike rate of batters from a single team has breached the 170 mark in the IPL.

Quotes

“I think the quality of Travis and Abhishek at the top and their their fearless attitude [has been the reason for aggressive batting style]. And I think once the openers do it, it’s pretty contagious. So those two in particular have been fantastic and then we’ve had some players have been really complementary to that style.”
“I think as a batting group, we may have lost the last two games but we scored 262 in a tough chase and then the other night 220 again. We know we’ve got the high scores in us. We’ve been playing with the freedom of chasing a high score. You know you have no option but to go after. We’ll be looking to continue that and play with the same freedom as if we were chasing a 220-plus score.”