The first-weekday fixture of Indian T20 League 2020 will be played between Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Match Timing: Sep 21, 7:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Bangalore ready to change their fortune in the 13th edition of Indian T20 League. The last year’s auction was decent for them after including some key players into the squad. They got Finch who will open for Bangalore along with domestic star Paddikal who was the top performer in Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq trophy. Virat Kohli and ABD are the key assets in middle-order following Moeen Ali at number 5. At finishing end, they have new signing Morris and Indian hitter Shivam Dubey. The bowling unit was their big concern in the last couple of years but this year, they have plenty of quality bowlers who can send some positive vibes to Kohli. For UAE’s conditions, they have Chahal, Moeen Ali, Washington Sundar, Adam Zampa and Shahbaz Ahmed who can give breakthroughs in middle-overs.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad has the weakest lineup this year, courtesy of their poor show at last year’s auction. They dropped some Indian players from the squad and now, they have the weakest part in middle-order. The top-order is outstanding with Bairstow-Warner in opening and Manish Pandey at number 3. Nabi might be promoted up in the order but how Indian youngsters do in case of major collapse at top-order, will be a big question. In the bowling unit, they have Rashid along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed who can pick wickets at any track. The road to playoffs would be a challenging task for Warner with a mediocre side but Hyderabad have the match-winners who can change the outcome of the game.
Pitch Report
Dubai Cricket Stadium’s track is a batting-friendly surface and it will be the second affair on the same track after Delhi-Punjab match. The surface might trouble batsmen later the match progress. Spinners will be in command in middle-overs. Batsmen require sensibility to put some runs on board. The ball can move with the extra spin.
Possible XI
Bangalore
Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Shahbaz Ahmed/Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini
Hyderabad
Jonny Bairstow (wk), David Warner (c), Virat Singh, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad/Abhishek Sharma, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Basil Thampi/Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Key Players
Bangalore
Virat Kohli
Indian T20 League – Runs: 5712, Avg: 37.84, SR: 131.61
AB De Villiers
Since 2018 in IPL – Runs: 922, Avg: 48.93, SR: 164.1
Hyderabad
David Warner
Last season – Runs: 692, Avg: 69.2, SR: 143.86
Jonny Bairstow
Last season – Runs: 445, Avg: 55.62, SR: 157.24
