After starting their season with a defeat, Royal Challengers Bangalore, which placed third in IPL 2022 standings, have won five of their seven matches. RCB will face Sunrisers Hyderabad, who gain four consecutive victories and two losses, placing the SRH in fifth place.
In this encounter between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad, the focus will be on RCB's Batsman, Virat Kohli. This time, the interest is on whether the former India captain can snap his slump of low scores so far this season by scoring a higher total.
The match between RCB and SRH will be held on April 23 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, today. According to reports, the temperatures are expected to be extraordinarily high, temperatures can reach as high as 31 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity can go as high as 50 per cent.
Poor performances from Kohli
Kohli has scored just 119 runs in seven matches so far. Most of the time, he ranks among the top five or 10 run-makers at any point in tournament play, and he is currently 37th on the list.
Throughout his career, he's earned headlines for his dazzling, daring batting style. This year, the attention has been mostly focused on his difficulties in the middle. While he's been RCB's most consistent batsman (together with AB de Villiers), he's had a terrible season this year.
His poor stroke selection had cost him thrice, once when he was run out and again when he was dismissed twice for ducks, notably in the previous match against Lucknow Super Giants. A 48-ball knock was his finest, but other than that, he seemed lost in his own head.
Kohli’s poor performance, especially for this IPL 2022 season, was considered a decline. It's hard to pinpoint Kohli's issues. Former Indian chief coach Ravi Shastri, who coached Kohli when he was captain, thinks he was 'overcooked' and needs a break.
RCB's batting lineup is less assured without Kohli, although some of their batters are in good form. Captain Faf du Plessis has looked sharp; Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Glenn Maxwell have played with confidence. Yet the team have not been entirely convincing. An immense contribution from Kohli could help the team to win the match against SRH and will signal a significant step in his redemption.
Sunrisers lineup
Sunrisers don't seem to be making any error right now. It's almost as if their two early losses woke them up. They haven't lost more than three wickets since. They won all four games chasing totals with time, overs, and wickets remaining.
Sunrisers' whole top five has guided them to four consecutive successful chases, with at least two - if not more - substantial contributions in each match, in contrast to their opponents' top-four struggles. In his four games, Rahul Tripathi has scored 161 runs at a strike rate of 189. The top left-right pair of Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson supported others who followed, with Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram guaranteeing safe passage to the close. Markram, in particular, has found his groove following a disappointing summer for South Africa. Markram has scored 190 runs at a strike rate of 150.
T Natarajan, Umran Malik, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar provide the pace for their batsmen. In addition to left-armer Natarajan's angle and yorker skills, Malik contributes to speed and Bhuvneshwar swing, variations, and experience.
The Sunrisers could emerge as one of the top contenders for the title if they maintain their all-around consistency in the remaining matches.
