What

Match 8 of Pepsi IPL 2015 will feature the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore clashing with the David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB began their season with a convincing win over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, while SRH suffered a 45-run drubbing at the hands of Chennai Super Kings.

RCB will be glad that despite playing a level of cricket far from their potential, they still managed to post points on the board. The bowling by the quicks left a lot to be desired and the ground fielding and catching was very sub-standard. Skipper Virat Kohli has reiterated time and again that the combination they have this seas gives the players a very good opportunity to go out and express themselves. In front of a noisy home crowd, one can expect the RCB players to play with freedom and the flair that one tends to associate with the team and raise their performance several notches.

SRH didn’t have the best of starts to the season and possibly need to revisit the drawing board to fix a few things after the defeat against CSK. The bowling lacked the sting – the bowlers managed to pick up just one wicket in 20 overs – and failed to contain the runs. The batting lacks depth in the middle and lower order and that’s an area the team possibly needs addressing. Skipper David Warner did well batting at number three and four last season and there might some merit in the team rejigging their batting order.

When

13 April 2015, 8p.m. IST

Where

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

The Protagonists

There couldn’t be a more influential player in T20 cricket than Chris Gayle. Most runs in T20 cricket, most hundreds in the format, most fifties, most sixes hit and most Man of the match awards won in the format – that’s Chris Gayle’s CV in brief. The Jamaican has added a new facet to his game, in that he now makes the conscious attempt to spend time at the crease before opening those broad shoulders.

The SRH skipper David Warner is undoubtedly their most influential player; the Australian is capable of destroying bowling attacks on his day, but given how much rides on his shoulders, he isn’t able to play his natural game. He needs to take a leaf or two out of Gayle’s book, attempt to play deep into the second half of the innings and play his natural game thereon.

Contests to look-forward to

The prospect of Dale Steyn and Trent Boult bowling to Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers is definitely something to look forward to. While Steyn has a score to settle against both the batsmen, Boult comes into the IPL with plenty of confidence from an impressive showing at the World Cup and will look to impose himself on the two batsmen.

Previous Meetings

The honours are shared evenly where previous contests between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad are concerned. The two teams have so far met on four occasions and have won two games apiece.

The first ever meeting between the two teams ended in a tie and was subsequently decided by means of a Super Over. SRH took the honours at the end of the one-over contest

Trivia

The average first innings total in IPL matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is 169.

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru – which has played host to 44 IPL matches so far – has witnessed 530 sixes being hit.

No one player has scored more runs in T20 cricket at one particular venue than Chris Gayle, who has an aggregate of 1397 runs from 29 outings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In 11 previous innings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru – across various tournaments and formats – Shikhar Dhawan has scored four half-centuries and a century.

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