SRH and RCB have shared an intense rivalry in the IPL over the years because of the fact that both these teams belong to South India. If you look at their head to head battle, there is not much difference as SRH is leading it by 8-6.
Both SRH and RCB have got the services of some of the best players in the world and it promises to be a cracking encounter. Let’s talk about one player from each team who can finish the game as the most valuable player –
#1 RCB (Virat Kohli)
The RCB skipper Virat Kohli is the all-time highest run-scorer in the history of the IPL, but it’s not his tally of runs which makes Kohli special. It’s the fact that he has got the skill-set to adapt to different surfaces around the world.
This IPL in UAE will require skill-set from the players, rather than just power because the grounds are big and the playing surfaces are tricky. It’s not ideal to just clear the front leg and try and slam the ball out of the ground because it will more often result in dismissals than sixes in UAE.
Kohli has got the perfect skill-set to thrive in UAE conditions as he is a multi dimensional player and he scores most of his runs through conventional cricketing shots rather than any fancy modern day shots.
Also, he picks the length early which allows him to position himself on the front or the back-foot rather than getting caught at the crease.
Kohli is going to be one of the very few players in IPL 2020 who can clear the ground with minimal risk. He can play the lofted drives over long off and extra cover and put the ball into the stands.
Because of his ability to play a very low risk game and still be able to maintain a high tempo, Kohli might turn out to be the most valuable player in the SRH Vs RCB game.
#2 SRH (Jonny Bairstow)
Jonny Bairstow is one of those players who have got both class and power. While he can manipulate the bowling, he can also impart brute force on the ball and he has shown time and again in international cricket that he can play different kind of innings on different surfaces.
Also, when Bairstow looks to go for the power shots, he mostly goes straight down the ground which is advisable in UAE because controlling the aerial shots with the straight bat on sluggish surfaces is much easier than controlling them with cross bats.
Another quality of Bairstow is his ability to accelerate on difficult batting surfaces. If he gets going, he hardly ever goes into his shell. The longer he spends at the crease, the more he will reduce the chances of an RCB victory.
Bairstow will also have fond memories of playing against RCB last season as it was against RCB only that he scored his first IPL hundred. He would want to replicate that as he takes the ground against them again on Monday night.
