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Updated June 24th, 2019 at 21:22 IST

IPL 2019: It's Warner Vs Kohli and AB as SRH host RCB - 5 things to look forward to

Sunrisers Hyderabad will be hosting Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.

Reported by: Karthik Nair
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Sunrisers Hyderabad will be hosting Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday. The 'Orange Army' will be looking to register their second straight win while RCB will be desperate to get a win under their belt and add the first two points in their tally after having lost their first two games. SRH will be heading into this contest after a five wicket win over Rajasthan Royals on Friday while RCB will be eager to overcome their six-run loss against Mumbai Indians.There are certain factors to look out for in the first game of the double-header on Sunday. 

1. David Warner's explosive start: Warner has made a strong comeback in this season's IPL. He has put the ball-tampering controversy behind him and is now making his bat do the talking. The destructive Australian opener has already amassed 154 runs in two matches at a strike rate of 171.11. Warner has played a significant role in SRH's success. He had led them to an IPL triumph in 2016. Warner has also won the 'Orange Cap' twice in 2015 and 2017.

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2. Beware of Kohli: Virat Kohli somehow finds a way to win praises with the bat. He even managed to do it in the last game against Mumbai Indians where he finally completed his 5,000 IPL runs. Kohli became only the second man after CSK's Suresh Raina to achieve this feat. He also became the first player to get to 5,000 runs by playing for a single franchise. The RCB skipper had stitched in a 49 run stand with Mr.360 AB de Villiers. He scored a quickfire 32-ball 46 at a strike rate of 143.75 before he was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah.

3. Jonny Bairstow's contribution as an opener: Bairstow has played a vital role in supporting David Warner. The duo have stitched two consecutive 100 run opening partnerships for SRH. He scored a 35-ball 39 on his IPL debut against KKR and then followed it up with a 28-ball 45 against Rajasthan Royals. 

4. Head-to-head records: Sunrisers Hyderabad hold the edge over Royal Challengers Bangalore in overall head-to-head meetings. In the 13 games that both sides have been involved in SRH have won seven matches while five games have been won by RCB  while there was no result in one game. SRH had also defeated RCB in the 2016 IPL final. Hyderabad also have the home advantage over their southern rivals with a 5-1 victory margin in six games.

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5. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar will be hoping for a revival in his fortunes: One of India's premier pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not had a good IPL so far. He went wicket-less against KKR by giving away 37 runs in his four overs at an economy of 9.25.  He was very expensive in SRH's last game against Rajasthan Royals where he gave away 55 runs in his four overs at an economy of 13.75 without any scalps. 

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Published March 31st, 2019 at 12:26 IST

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