IPL 2024: Sunrisers Hyderabad's strongest predicted playing XI against Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Buckle up cricket fans. Match 41 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 will pit Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). When the two teams clashed earlier this season, Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium witnessed absolute carnage. Two of the top five team totals in IPL history happened that day and the show is more likely to repeat.

Travis Head’s 41-ball 102 and Heinrich Klaasen’s 31-ball 67 steered SRH to post the highest-ever score in the league history (287-3). A blazing start from the RCB openers and Dinesh Karthik’s late burst helped the home team reduce the margin of defeat to 25 runs. The match ended with an aggregate score of 549 - the highest ever in a game of T20.

SRH have been displaying such ruthless batting throughout this season and their latest onslaught was against Delhi Capitals (DC). SRH batters gave their bowlers plenty of runs (266) to defend and they bundled out the opposition for 199. Pat Cummins and his team are currently third in the points table after winning five out of seven matches.

On the other hand, RCB are at the bottom of the points table with just one win from eight matches. Considering the current form, the hapless RCB are going to get thrashed at SRH’s home ground – the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad - on Thursday, April 25. 

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Here's the probable playing XI for SRH versus RCB IPL 2024 clash:

Openers: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head

Undoubtedly, the best opening pair of IPL 2024. While many teams go after a left-right opening combination, these two left-handers are making a mockery of the opposition bowlers with some serious power-hitting. The two have given blistering starts for SRH in almost every match they have played so far. 

Travis Head is currently the third-highest run scorer with 324 runs at an average of 54.00 and a strike rate of 216.00. The Australian is coming on the back of a belligerent ton and a quick 32-ball 89 and will look to demolish the RCB bowlers again. His partner at the other end, Abhishek Sharma, is not silent either. In the last match, the youngster was close to equaling the legendary Yuvraj Singh's record of a 12-ball half-century. With a staggering strike of 215.97, the uncapped Indian has amassed 257 runs so far.

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Middle-order: Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad

The SRH middle-order has well complemented their top-order’s scintillating form so far. Aiden Markram hasn't produced any big scores this season, but the Proteas batter has been right on the money to accelerate the scoring rate. On the other hand, Heinrich Klaasen is also SRH's key strength in the middle overs.

The openers will set the stage for a mammoth total and these big-hitters will take care of the rest. With the help of 26 monstrous sixes, Klaasen has accumulated 268 runs in seven matches at an average of 53.60 and a strike rate of 198.52. Abdul Samad is tasked with the finishing role and he impressed whenever he got the chance. Batting at lower-order, the right-hander has scored 119 runs at a whopping strike rate of 216.36. 

All-rounders: Shahbaz Ahmed, Nitish Kumar Reddy

Shahbaz Ahmed cemented his name in this category with his impactful knock in the last match against DC. Just when it looked like SRH would cross 250 or above with ease, Delhi bowlers applied brakes on the scoring rate with quick wickets. However, Shahbaz Ahmed made a stunning cameo (59* off 29 balls) to take the team to 266.

Shahbaz is also a handy bowler in the middle stages but needs to control leaking runs. Nitish Kumar Reddy is the find of the season for SRH. The 20-year-old showcased his talent with a powerful knock of 64 runs off 37 balls against Punjab. He has been making such crucial contributions with the bat and his bowling prowess was also seen in the last match where he took two wickets in his two overs. 

Bowlers: Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat

Captain Pat Cummins will lead the pace attack comprising Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jaydev Unadkat. The trio will also have the help of T Natarajan who joins as an Impact Player. Cummins had taken three wickets against RCB in their previous encounter. Bhuvneshwar hasn’t been at his best this season though. He went wicketless and conceded 60 runs against RCB last time.

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Undakat's form is also worrying, especially in the death overs, where he leaks a lot of runs. Meanwhile, Natarajan has been in good form so far with 10 wickets in five innings. Notably, he grabbed a four-wicket haul in the last match against DC, conceding just 19 runs. Mayank Markande will handle the spin department. The leg-spinner took four wickets in the last two matches and notably, he removed Virat Kohli and Rajat Paditar in the previous RCB vs SRH clash. 

SRH's predicted XI against RCB:

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat

Impact substitute: T Natarajan