Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and opted to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match No. 65 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, here on Thursday.
The Faf du Plessis-led RCB, who registered a big win against Rajasthan Royals in the last game, didn’t make any change in their playing XI.
“We are gonna have a bowl. The last two nights we have had some dew. Good surface but touch on the slower side. Same team as the last game. Hasaranga has a niggle. Bracewell strengthens our batting. We have to start afresh. The game of cricket has a funny way of biting you. You have to have the humility of looking at a fresh game,” said Du Plessis at the toss.
On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad made a couple of changes in their line-up, with Harry Brook, Kartik Tyagi and Nitish Reddy getting their chances.
“We would’ve looked to bat ourselves, our bowlers have been our stronger suit. Couple of changes: Harry Brook comes back in, Kartik Tyagi and Nitish are in,” said SRH captain Aiden Markram.
Asked about Umran Malik not getting a chance, Markram said, “Not too sure to be honest. Certainly, he’s (Umran) a player with the X-factor, bowls at 150kph, but I don’t really know what’s behind the scenes but he has a lot of X-factor…Lots of pride to play for. Guys are full of energy and determination.”
