IPL 2017 Preview | Match 1 : Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

04/05/2017

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IPl 2017 kicks off with a rematch of last year's final between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Both teams will be looking to get their campaign off to a perfect start, but RCB have their task cut out for them due to the absence of Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers for the game.

Sunrisers Hyderabad takes on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first game of IPL 2017 in Hyderabad today. While RCB will be looking to avenge their loss at the hands of the home side in the final, last year, the Hyderabad will want to start their title defense with a win.

Head to Head

In the nine matches between the two, Sunrisers hold a slender advantage having won five games compared to RCB's four. One of the games ended in a tie and had to be resolved with a Super over, where Cameron White came up with the goods setting RCB a target of 20, that Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli failed to reach.

Last Meeting

The last meeting between the two sides was the last game of the 2016 campaign - the final. It was Sunrisers who managed to edge out Bangalore by 8 runs, that too on their own patch at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore to clinch the title.

Predicted Playing XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad : David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Naman Ojha (WK), Deepak Hooda, Ben Cutting, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bipul Sharma, Ashish Nehra.

Royal Challengers Bangalore : Chris Gayle, Shane Watson (C), Kedar Jadhav (wk), Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Mandeep Singh, Travis Head, Pawan Negi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tymal Mills, Aniket Choudhary.

Key Player

Shikhar Dhawan (SRH) : Dhawan has endured a rough patch in recent times and has already stated his intentions of using this IPL as a platform to make a comeback to the Indian side for the upcoming Champions Trophy. The stage is set for the swashbuckling southpaw to set the tournament alight in the first game itself and get his side off to a flying start in the process.

Chris Gayle (RCB) : The IPL has seen many instances of what the big West Indian can do and once again, the onus will be on Gayle to stand up and deliver in the first game of the new season. The injury-plagued Challengers will be without Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers for the opener so all Bangalore fans will be looking at Gayle for inspiration.

Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.

Timing: 8 PM IST

Tv Listings (India) : Sony Six HD, Sony Six, Set Max, Sony ESPN.