Giant-killers Hyderabad and Bangalore eye qualifiers berth

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

A buoyant Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will bid to book a berth in the second qualifier by extending their juggernaut against an unpredictable Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the eliminator of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Friday.

The tournament is being played in the Round Robin format and the loser of the first qualifier will meet the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier for berth in the final of the tournament.

While the winner of the first qualifier will directly move into the final without having to face the unwanted jitters of going through a grueling eliminators. The loser of the eliminator will exit.

Hyderabad staged a remarkable comeback after a string of defeats in the topsy-turvy first-half, which had tossed their stuttering campaign for a spin.

They were almost written off and stayed in the south of the standings for most of the time during the league stages of the tournament.

Hyderabad have been playing every games as their last match to remain afloat. Even to make it to the knock stages, they had to beat top three teams -- Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Bangalore -- in their last three matches keep their campaign alive.

And they did so that too in style. They defeated Delhi a huge margin of 88 runs putting up a clinical performance to trample Bangalore and Mumbai by five and ten wickets in lopsided affairs.

By the virtue of a superior run rate, Hyderabad ended Kolkata Knight Rider’s (KKR) hopes, marching relentlessly over their play-off’s ambitions. They finished even one place above Bangalore.

Hyderabad will have an edge over Bangalore, having beaten them in their last meeting. Riding on an extra ordinary bowling performance, they managed to restrict a star-studded Bangalore to a paltry 120/7 that too in Sharjah, which has small boundaries and a placid turf, which makes it a batters’ paradise.

Sandeep Sharma and Rashid Khan have been two most important cogs of the wheel of their winning juggernaut. Sandeep has a knack of taking the wickets in the power-play which pushes the opponents on the back foot right from the beginning.

His record in the power-play puts him alongside the like of Jasprit Bumrah of Mumbai. While Rashid is renowned for choking the middle-order with his wily spin.

Their batting which revolved around David Warner, Kane Williamson and Jonny Bairstow has been bolstered by the inclusion of West Indian all-rounder Jason Holder and Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey chipping in with useful contributions.

They will once again depend on Saha and Warner to lay down solid foundation so the hitters could capitalize on it to help them post a big total.

Meanwhile, Bangalore will look to shrug off the disappointment of defeat and bounce to book a berth in the second qualifier.

Bangalore’s have one of the best batting line-ups with the like of Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal and AB de Villiers.

Finch was dropped to accommodate Josh Philippe is likely to return to the fold. While the mainstay their batting will be very Kohli and De Villiers.

He has been in devastating form and guided them to victory single-handedly against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata. Kohli has also been among the runs and due to play a big innings.

If de Villiers clicks, they don’t need any else to do anything. He can change the complexion of any game. Holder can also hit some big shots down the order and propel the score to a huge total.

In the bowling, they will rely on Chris Morris, Mohammad Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal. The pacers can wreak havoc if they get the line and length right while the wily spinner is capable of pegging the opponents back with a wicket or two in the middle of the innings if they try to flex their muscles.

With both the sides looking for desperate to win the title, the eliminator promises to be a blockbuster affair.